Indian wicket-keeper believes the pitches in the West Indies will be slow and provide grip which the spinners can exploit.
Indian wicket-keeper believes the pitches in the West Indies will be slow and provide grip which the spinners can exploit.
KINGSTON: Having blazed around against the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Mahendra Singh Dhoni says he is not alarmed by the West Indian fast bowlers eager to make an impression against the Indian batsmen in the forthcoming series.
“As a cricketer you are always looking to improve but it does not mean there are any undue concerns about their fast bowlers and their pace,” said Dhoni after the nets. “I faced Andrew Flintoff at home and he was bowling genuinely quick with bounce. So there is no alarm as such about the West Indian fast bowlers.”
The dashing Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, however, was quick to add that he was ready to adjust himself against the hosts attack, if required.
“If I have to do adjustments, I would do so at the necessary time,” he said. Dhoni revealed that he had come expecting slow pitches and his impression seemed to be right if the venue for the nets was any indication.
“I have come over expecting wickets to be slow yet providing grip to the spinners. This one in the middle certainly confirms the impression,” he said about the strip at Chadwin Park where the team practised yesterday morning.
This, Dhoni feels, would allay any undue fear about the West Indian fast bowlers troubling the Indian batsmen. Dhoni has shouldered more than his fair share of load in the last few months. Since Rahul Dravid assumed total command last October, Dhoni has played in all but one match.
“When so much of cricket is being played, you learn to switch on and off. For others, it might mean a visit to the beach, for me it helps to listen to music,” he said. That he thrives on challenges is evident in his soaring graph.
In a year-and-a-half, he has 1372 runs to his name from 42 one-day matches at an average of 52.77.
He rose to be number one batsman in one-day cricket for a week recently and one doubts if any wicketkeeper-batsman has come with a bigger reputation than Dhoni’s to West Indies. Dhoni admitted that it had been an endless season for Indian cricketers with only a fortnight’s break in the present year but hoped there would be sufficient break for the team before the Champions Trophy in October.
“After the present series against the WI, we play Lanka in August and then there is a sufficient break for us.”
ICC rankings
Headed for No1 slot again
DUBAI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have a golden chance to regain the top slot from Adam Gilchrist in the upcoming fivematch series in Caribbeans beginning on Thursday as only three rating points separate the Indian stumper from his Aussie peer in the LG ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen. The Aussies are on a five-month break from international cricket.
Gilchrist is No.1 with 809 rating points while tDhoni is breathing under his neck with 806 points. Ricky Ponting (785) is third in the list. Among other Indians, skipper Rahul Dravid, placed at 10th spot. Irfan Pathan (765) is in second spot behind Shaun Pollock (858) in the bowling rankings.
Meanwhile, outstanding form in the recently completed series against Zimbabwe has seen the West Indies’ Ramnaresh Sarwan move up four places to no.9 in the batsmen’s list. Sarwan was the leading run-scorer on either side with 254 runs, including three half-centuries and a highest score of 91.
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