A chance to redeem. The ensuing Asia Cup could more be a test of India’s mental strength than their skill sets. Coming from an ordinary T20 campaign in the West Indies and the bench being shown their rightful place in Zimbabwe, it’s time to set the record straight. Fitness has been another area of much debate. Skipper M.S. Dhoni will have his plate full in Sri Lanka. The wicket-keeper batsman was not entirely clear when he met the media after a practice session.
On reports of Gary Kirsten ticking a few players for non-performance and fitness: It is very important to see what is actually happening rather than putting it through. A lot more clarification is required in the matter. Gary is the coach and in charge of the whole side. We lost the T20 World Cup, but certain things are just for the team. Yes we had our personal chats and nothing more that.
On the changes in the squad: This is the time where you can afford to bring about few changes as you get close to the World Cup but not too many at the same time. Once we get a set of players, we want to continue with them. This is the time to experiment. We would like to play with the side and give them more exposure.
On Yuvraj Singh being dropped: Of course, we will miss him. If you see the last couple of years, he has been one of our main strength in the middle order. But at the same time, if some of the youngsters could fill in it would be great. The kind of talent he is I am sure he will come back soon.
On the possible combination in Sri Lanka: It is very difficult to say until you see the conditions available there. It is not easy to predict your final XI. We do have couple of practice sessions and we will see how that turns out.
On the limited strength with the new ball: Fast bowling, especially in the sub continent is a difficult job. We have quite a few bowlers but they have not done well. It’s not about bowling fast but to be smart.