“Right from the late 1980s, we got cricketers who were ready to play worldwide cricket”, Dhoni said.
Advertisement
But there are certain aspects that might also relieve Dhoni.
“Treat every challenge as an opportunity and every opportunity as a challenge”, he said.
Dhoni also expressed his views on including left-arm pacer Barinder Sran in the ODI squad in place of injured Mohammad Shami, who pulled his hamstrings and was ruled out of the series.
“We’ve had some fierce battles, both in India and here over the last few years”, he said. “As far as newcomers are concerned, we will definitely feature them in the tournament and also we want to see where they stand”, Dhoni said.
There’s also the matter of who will take the spot of the sixth batsman, Manish Pandey or Gurkeerat Singh Mann. That Indian team captained by Kapil Dev went on to knock out New Zealand to meet Australia in the finals, which the hosts won 2-0. We’ll wait and see how it looks tomorrow. It is a very hard position to bat. Runs are always the best currency.
Dhoni feels playing at the top level demands a certain degree of flexibility, which is a key ingredient for success in all good teams. But there is extra bounce and that’s something that they will have to adjust to and we can start to exploit that straightaway in the very first game of the series. Ajinkya Rahane is expected at No 4 and one might find the Indian captain batting at No 5. “But at the same time, you have to look at everyone”.
“I think he hits a yorker as well as anyone at the moment”.
Speaking about the game in Perth, Dhoni said his side will most likely sticking to a three-pacer-two-spinner combination as it works to their strength. “It is the performance that takes care of the rankings”.
Overall, India’s squad seems a lot more settled than Australia’s.
Now is the time, though, to throw all these youngsters into the deep end, for better or for worse, whether they are the finished article or not. That ultimately depends on the individual and his character. Shami bowled 18 overs and bagged three wickets for Bengal from two matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy after returning from injury recently. They are a quality side so from our point of view we have got to start well and play well against them.
“I think the trend is changing slowly. I feel that actually helps you gain experience and it will be a win-win scenario for both the teams while going through this phase”, he added.
Young quicks Joel Paris and Scott Boland have been included alongside South Australian paceman Kane Richardson after their impressive form through the summer to date.
“I thought the nation really embraced the game and I thought the way Australia played the game was particularly exciting”. The Scorchers are now playing in the Big Bash League and none of their first team players will be available for the match. “Yes I’ve sat down with Boof [Darren Lehmann] and with Rod Marsh and spoken to the other selectors about how I would like the team to structure up”.
Advertisement
Paris, 23, is the same age as McGrath was when he made his ODI debut, with the fast bowling great going on to bag 381 wickets in his illustrious career.
