Relieved that we have specialist death bowlers: MS Dhoni

Kolkata, 8 March। India’s limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday said that the best thing about his bowling unit is that he knows from the start of the innings who will bowl the last over.

India have somewhat resolved the issue of death bowling in the last few weeks with newcomer Jasprit Bumrah taking the bulk of the workload. Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have also hit the right areas in the last few overs.

Their efforts have resulted in India coming into the competition after back-to-back T20 series victories against Australia and Sri Lanka. They also clinched the Asia Cup T20 competition last Sunday.

“What I am happy about going into the World T20 is that right from the very first over I know who will be bowling at the death and that is a big relief. About 99 percent of the time I know who will bowl at the death," Dhoni told media persons here.

"Last few years what has happened was close to the 15th or the 16th over I have had to see as to who was bowling the best, assess the situation and then decide who to bowl at the death. Now it is a relief that we have specialist death bowlers and at the same time the whole bowling department is bowling well, which makes my job easier."

The skipper also stressed on fitness being one of the key issues which will help India in their quest for their second T20 World Cup.

“As far as this preparation is concerned we have had the perfect scenario. We played in Australia, Sri Lanka and then a tournament like Asia Cup. So we are on track but fitness will be one of the concerns, because of it you may lose one of the first 11. We have no concerns as such now, overall the preparation has been good,” said Dhoni, who captained the side to the World T20 triumph in 2007.

The 34-year-old also said that the team would not be bogged down with the expectation of winning another world event at home and would want to ideally be at the top of their game in the knock-outs.

“We are not thinking much about expectations. Last two or three series we have won so it gives us confidence. We are quite settled as a team with all the departments doing well. But once we are in the knock-outs I believe we have to be at the top of our game because otherwise you are out of the tournament,” he said.

Asked if the team was looking forward to playing the final at the Eden Gardens, Dhoni said,” We are not thinking of it now, it is a long way away. First let us see how we do in the warm-up games. Each game is important, slow and steady is the key. It all will depend on the start, so we are not thinking about the final now.”

Dhoni added the team is in sixth gear now and the things they were doing on the field are adequate to give them another world trophy.

“We are in the sixth gear now. I don’t think we have to do something differently. The stuff we are doing is adequate. Focus should be on the very first game,” he said.

The skipper also believes that all the teams are capable of winning the trophy this time around.

“Every team is a big team. It is quite even. You just cannot take any side lightly,” Dhoni added.

Agency