Aren’t Indian batsmen performing up to the mark?
India
captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni steered clear of controversial questions like
England star Andrew Flintoff's decision to freelance as a cricketer and the
future of 50-50 cricket and instead focused on his team's next big challenge -
the Champions Trophy in South Africa - on the eve of team India's departure on
Thursday.
The one thing Dhoni was quite happy about was the news of opener Gautam Gambhir clearing the fitness test. Gambhir, who had suffered a groin injury in Sri Lanka, passed the test after physio Nitin Patel assessed him at the Bandra Kurla Complex in the afternoon.
"It comes as a big relief. It's good that Gambhir has recovered... he can really make a difference at the top of the order in the absence of Virender Sehwag," Dhoni said.
India open their campaign in the Champions Trophy against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 26, a game which will surely test Dhoni & Co. However, the skipper put things in perspective: "We prepare well and hard for every game and it really doesn't matter whether it is Australia or Pakistan. We would bother about what we are supposed to do."
However, when asked about the "extra motivation" while playing against Pakistan, he said: "There's history in Indian cricket and of course the romance of an Indo-Pak contest is always there. It's also good that we did well the last time we played at the Centurion (the venue for the India-Pakistan game) in 2003."
Dhoni agreed that the competition would be tough but felt that a lot would depend on the conditions in South Africa. "It's tough to pick favourites. The conditions do matter. This time the wickets in South Africa could be different. When we played IPL-II there earlier this year it was the end of cricket season there. Usually pitches there are flat but for events like the Champions Trophy they would be expected to be good."
Surprisingly, Dhoni gave a clean chit to bowlers and focused on the batting. "The bowlers have done well of late but we need to shore up our batting, particularly the middle-overs and the slog overs."
The one thing Dhoni was quite happy about was the news of opener Gautam Gambhir clearing the fitness test. Gambhir, who had suffered a groin injury in Sri Lanka, passed the test after physio Nitin Patel assessed him at the Bandra Kurla Complex in the afternoon.
"It comes as a big relief. It's good that Gambhir has recovered... he can really make a difference at the top of the order in the absence of Virender Sehwag," Dhoni said.
India open their campaign in the Champions Trophy against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 26, a game which will surely test Dhoni & Co. However, the skipper put things in perspective: "We prepare well and hard for every game and it really doesn't matter whether it is Australia or Pakistan. We would bother about what we are supposed to do."
However, when asked about the "extra motivation" while playing against Pakistan, he said: "There's history in Indian cricket and of course the romance of an Indo-Pak contest is always there. It's also good that we did well the last time we played at the Centurion (the venue for the India-Pakistan game) in 2003."
Dhoni agreed that the competition would be tough but felt that a lot would depend on the conditions in South Africa. "It's tough to pick favourites. The conditions do matter. This time the wickets in South Africa could be different. When we played IPL-II there earlier this year it was the end of cricket season there. Usually pitches there are flat but for events like the Champions Trophy they would be expected to be good."
Surprisingly, Dhoni gave a clean chit to bowlers and focused on the batting. "The bowlers have done well of late but we need to shore up our batting, particularly the middle-overs and the slog overs."
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