MULTAN: With five senior Indian players on the wrong side of 30, coach Greg Chappell wants to try out “new talent, new blood, new enthusiasm” to keep “regenerating” the team so that there is no vacuum when they quit.

“You can't afford to have the same group together for too long, because if you have four or five players who are going to finish around the same time, you are going to have problems,” Chappell said.

Without taking the names of captain Rahul Dravid (33), Sachin Tendulkar (32), Sourav Ganguly (33), VVS Laxman (31) and Anil Kumble (35), who have all played most of their international cricket by now, he stressed that India would have to keep replacements ready at all times, especially considering the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

“I think it (batting) is probably more established than the bowling. But we have got some young players in the one-day squad. You've got to keep moving on at all stages. If you are standing still, you are going backwards really,” said Chappell. A former Australian captain, he said youngsters needed to be tried out constantly.

Chappell said all countries had similar situations. “And it's one thing that the selection panel has to be aware of at all times. You can't allow a situation like that to develop. You've got to keep bringing in young players into the side for a number of reasons,- not least of all to regenerate the enthusiasm and the energy in a team,” he pointed out.

“And that's something that over the years as a selector, as an administrator, as a player and as a coach, I have got to know very well that you've got to keep looking to move forward. If you are standing still or looking backwards you are in trouble.”

When pointed out that he was hinting at mostly batting pillars, Chappell said: “Yeah, we have got quite a few, so it's a very important management process over the next few years, to make sure that other players are given opportunities, that we keep building the strength and the youth of the team and the energy of the team.”

Himself a classical batsman, Chappell said instilling vigour and vitality in the team was vital. “It's very important to keep regenerating teams. We are going through a period at the moment where we need to look at regenerating the group that we have got; keep building for the present, but also keeping an eye on the future.