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ShareMumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has expressed concern about his side's inability to bowl well in the death overs and has also cajoled the younger batsmen to make full use of the starts they get while playing in the middle order.
With Yuvraj Singh set to return for the second ODI in Nagpur on Wednesday, Dhoni will be able to breathe a little easy. India will be keen to bounce back early in this seven-match one-day series and Yuvraj's return will add much needed balance to the team and will beef up the middle-order.
Former chief selector Kiran More believes Yuvraj can invigorate the side. "Yuvraj's comeback will restore balance in the team. India would be richer by a world-class fielder which is of utmost importance now...Believe me, I haven't seen a really good catch taken by the Indians for a long time," More told DNA.
While Dhoni believes his bowlers must bowl better in the death overs, More feels otherwise. "We need a wicket-taker in the initial overs. We are missing Zaheer Khan badly."
The former selector also felt that Rohit Sharma must be back in the squad at the earliest."We have Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar at the top. They score at a brisk rate. But we need batsmen in the middle-order who can score at a high strike-rate. Yuvraj and Rohit are best suited for the role," More added.
A source in the team management, admitted: "Yuvraj is undoubtedly India's number one player in ODIs and his absence was severely felt, especially as the young guns are yet to do justice to their talent."
Either one of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli will have to make way when Yuvraj returns, the source said. "They have played too much of T20 cricket. In the shortest format these 20s and 30s help in the team's success. But in ODIs you need to build your innings," the source added.
More believes that India must pull up their socks in the fielding department. "At times it is the fielding that makes a big difference between these two sides. The Australians pick up wickets by latching onto some astonishing catches," More said.
Meanwhile, in reference to Dhoni's comments that bowlers need to pull up their socks, India's World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev said: "Dhoni knows everything."
