WC not final frontier: Dhoni
Ricky Ponting plays with a rugby ball during a training session ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the coolest captains going around in world cricket. The pressure of expectations always hangs over the Indian team and is nothing new to Dhoni. Being the tournament’s co-hosts, it naturally rachets up expectations. But the India captain is not swayed by such pressures and is supremely confident of his team.
Having taken over the reins in 2007, this may well be the 29-year-old’s biggest responsibility as India look to regain the title that they last won in 1983 under Kapil Dev. But Dhoni, in his trademark composed and calm manner, refused to label the World Cup as the final frontier. “A lot of hype is always created around the World Cup, but I know that every series that we play has a lot of expectations. The World Cup is being played in India and we are expected to win,” said Dhoni.
“The atmosphere was much the same when we went for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Expectations will always be there and it won’t be right to consider this as the final frontier. “It is one of the big tournaments and the team need to do well here and what we need to realise is that it is always the process and preparation that will help us achieve success and not thinking about how big the tournament is,” he said as the team made their final preparations for the quadrennial event.
Dhoni however, warned his team against complacency in the initial stages of the tournament. “I think it will be interesting right from the start. People consider some of the games as boring but as you saw in the last World Cup it were the boring games that took out the whole excitement from the tournament. Keep your eyes open for them,” he said, adding that most of the teams in the event were capable of winning it.
India have a tricky opener against Bangladesh, who in 2007 had knocked them out of the World Cup in the first round. But Dhoni is not bothered by past results. “It is a fresh start and we need to do well is all that I will say.” On the brighter side, the skipper noted that the team had a good mixture of experience and youth, who could change the course of the game on their own.
“The mix of the players is really good. We have got some very experienced players in the side. Most of the players have played for at least seven years and that is a very good sign and at the same time we have got some very talented youngsters who can really change the course of the game,” he said.
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