Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday approved that the current England Test series is one of the most difficult tours of his career.If you think injuries, fitness, form, everything, there are quite a few things to worry about. It's difficult to recall (any other) but it's among the hardest tour I've been involved in, he told a press discussion ahead of the third Test starting on Wednesday.
The tour has placed extraordinary demands on the mental faculties of Indian cricketers, more so on Dhoni who has been on the road for approximately a year and who has the added accountability of keeping and leading the side.More than that, it's the physical aspect. However, more and more you play, the more well-informed you get to train your mind to get out of it; the measures what needs to be taken.
Of course, it's not trouble-free; there are different ways for different folks. Some prefer to have extra nets while others prefer to take their mind off cricket. It's what suits an individual,he said. He did not out rightly reject the idea of fielding four medium pacers on a green track at Edgbaston in the third Test.
The wickets so far haven't assist spinners. It pushes us to think if we can play four fast bowlers, the slow over-rate doesn't bother us, what's significant we select the eleven suited to the track,said the Indian captain.
India presently has four fit medium-pacers in S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel. RP Singh, the substitute for Zaheer Khan, is yet to join the squad which in fact restricts the options for the tourists.
The other option of course would be to have either leg-spinner Amit Mishra or left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha make the playing eleven. Despite opener Virender Sehwag's failure against Northampton shire in the warm-up match, Dhoni underline the value the Delhi dasher brings to the side.
There is no good reason why he shouldn't be playing. He is a dynamic player; he backs his instincts to play shots, irrespective of the bowler he is facing. He looks at the ball and gives it the treatment it deserves.He is an violent opener who has a big impact on confrontation bowlers. He is a very high-quality batsman to have in the side, he said.
Dhoni uttered concern on how his side failed to capitalize on the good positions between the 45th and 80th over during England's batting.We were in a position to dominate both games.If we get into a comparable situation, it's significant we go ahead and put further heaviness on their batting which is rather deep.