Good combination

M.S. DHONI... a big hit.-AP

The Indian team has discovered a swinging speedster in Sreesanth. He will make a good opening pair with Pathan. Raina and Venugopal Rao will strengthen the middle order. Hope Sachin will be back with a bang in the Test series against the West Indies. Sehwag and Kaif will definitely make an impact in the one-dayers.

T. D. R. Tilak , VizagUnfair

It is not a fair deal for Ganguly, Laxman and Kumble. They should not have been dropped from the one-day team against the West Indies. Ganguly has an enviable record in the one-dayers, only Sachin Tendulkar has more hundreds than him in the limited overs game. Laxman's performance in ODIs against Australia in Australia (2003-4) was praiseworthy. But now he has not found a place in the ODI team for the tour of the West Indies. Nobody can dispute Kumble's calibre as a spinner. His 500 plus Test wickets speak for that. These three are assets to the Indian team, whether it be ODIs or Test matches.

Jayanti Jha, ChandigarhNot a meagre amount

I was surprised by Waingankar's argument (`Pension: make it count', issue dated April 22) that the pension of Rs. 25000 to Rs. 35000, for former players, is meagre. There are many who are living with an income of less than Rs. 2 lakhs per year in our country.

Besides, some of the former cricketers are well to do and this pension is just an additional income for them.

N. J. Patel, MysoreFootball fiesta

The World Cup buzz is on. The stage is set for an exciting football fiesta. I feel Ronaldinho will make this year's Cup a memorable one.

The interview with Dean Jones was quite interesting.

Kausik Majumdar, KolkataGood interview

The interview with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, by Vijay Lokapally, was interesting. Some of Dhoni's answers were forthright. To a question about his batting style, he has firmly said: "It will never change. I will make adjustments depending upon the situation but will not stop playing my natural game." His interview was as flamboyant as his batting.

Suresh Manoharan, HyderabadTough task

"The Niche Men" by N. U. Abilash was good. I feel managing a club side is quite difficult. The schedules are hectic and the manager has to be always on his toes. If the team fails then the axe falls on him. The author has made an error in his story. He has stated that the "Fake Sheikh" operation on Sven-Goran Eriksson was done by the "Daily Mirror." But it was actually the British tabloid "News of the World" that carried out the sting operation.

Subhankar Mondal, BangaloreNot happy with the format

I am a regular reader of the Sportstar for more than two decades. I am not happy with the tabloid format. The magazine format was definitely better and I found it easy to file the old issues.

The number of pictures has come down drastically. The magazine used to carry a minimum of five to six pictures for Test matches, but now one can find just two or maximum three in the reviews.

I would love to preserve the old numbers, but I find it difficult because of the size. I am also unhappy with the reduction of pictures in the magazine.

P. V. Sooraj Kumar, Kochi