Eight players were missing when the Mumbai cricket team had its first practice session at the Brabourne Stadium today to prepare for the opening tour game against Australia starting Thursday.

These players, who were part of the Mumbai squad that lost the Irani Trophy at Mohali last week, are still in Chandigarh participating in the J P Atre Office Tournament. They will return home tomorrow, just a day ahead of the big match.

Wasim Jaffer, Robin Morris, Aavishkar Salvi, Swapnil Hazare, Vinit Indulkar, Bhavin Thakkar, and wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant are among the cricketers playing in the northern city.

Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit confirmed this, but insisted that it would not affect the side. "Rather it will give them good batting practice as the Mohali wicket is helpful for batsmen. We were together during the Irani Trophy. Besides, it is an office tournament and the players are sometimes obliged to participate."

Pandit said the loss against the Rest of India in the Irani Trophy match was on account of the lack of match practice and the continued poor form of the batsmen. "We were playing the match after a four-month layoff and failed to click as a side. Batting has been a problem for two seasons and we hope things will be okay in the game against Australia," he said.

Pandit expects the Australians to field their best eleven in the opening game and promised that his team "will not give the Australians the confidence [they want] before they play India". He pointed out that Mumbai had given the visitors a tough time on two previous occasions, in 1998 and 2001, and that had set the tone for the Test matches that followed, with India winning both series 2-1.

Captain Sairaj Bahutule, who was part of both previous tour games against the Australians, said locking horns with the visitors in the only side game of the series has given his team a "sense of belonging".

"It is like we are also a part in the scheme of things," he said. "We have to stall the Australians before they take on India. Also, it is a bonus for the team for winning the Ranji Trophy this year."

Bahutule said his side would be playing for pride and reputation. On Sachin Tendulkar missing the game, he retorted that the team was used to not having him around and his absence only provides an opportunity for the younger players to make an impact.

"It is a very good opportunity for the youngsters and also for some of us to stake claims [to a spot in the national team]," the skipper said. "We are trying to make the juniors feel comfortable. The only basic advice to them has been to play their game naturally. You cannot change things just because you are playing the best team in the world."