Chennai: The morale of the Indian team in its bid to win the tri-series in Sri Lanka would be low in the absence of Sourav Ganguly, former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani said Wednesday.

“The six-match ban on Sourav is harsh. His absence will affect the team’s morale to a certain extent. Afterall, he has been the most successful captain of India,” Kirmani, a former national selection committee chairman, said here.

On new coach Greg Chappell, Kirmani said he was one of the great players of the game and would inspire the team to perform well.

Saying that the Indian team was balanced and Sachin Tendulkar’s absence “would not have any adverse impact”, he pointed out that “the team had a bad series against Pakistan at home and the players would like to make a turnaround.”

Kirmani said former coach John Wright had infused professionalism and the team’s fielding had also improved considerably under him. “Greg will provide great inspiration to the team.”

He also negated a suggestion that captaincy would affect Rahul Dravid’s performance. “Rahul has a matured mind and I am sure he will not be under any extra pressure as captain.”

Rejecting the suggestion that vice-captain Virender Sehwag was looked upon to shoulder greater responsibility in bating, Kirmani said: “Every player is capable of scoring runs. A few players could run in to bad form or the entire team could have a bad patch. That is cricket. On the whole, we have an established batting line-up.” (PTI)