Death bowling a concern - MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

Ahead of their World Cup T20 opener against Pakistan tomorrow, Indian captain MS Dhoni has admitted that the bowling department remains a concern and hence the batsmen will be looking to score more to counter the issue.

Dhoni said: “Bowling is an area of concern compared to batting. Getting off to a good start is important as it will help us get 10 to 15 runs more than the par-score. Our aim will be to do well in death bowling and also bat well and we will have a good chance (in the tournament)”.

The 32-year-old concurred with the reporters that his bowlers lack in experience, although he believes that the IPL exposure will come to their rescue: “Agreed they haven’t played a lot of T20 International cricket but the experience in IPL will help them a lot. We would want the bowlers to get one or two wickets with the new ball, their job will be much easier”.

Immensely satisfied with how things have panned out in the two practice matches played so far, he said, “Overall, we have achieved a lot during the two practice games. The idea was to give the guys some fair time in the middle. Yuvi and Raina contributed in bowling.”

Lavishing praises on Pakistan bowlers Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal: “Umar Gul is a fantastic bowler. I remember during the 2007 ICC World T20, he would be introduced in the 11th or 12th over and bowl till the end. Having said that, they have other fast bowlers also, who are equally dangerous.”

“Ajmal is a bowler against whom you can never score freely. It’s also the manner how they have used him (Ajmal) to stop batsmen from scoring runs in the slog overs. They gave him an over in the first six (Powerplay) and then couple of overs in the middle. If you see on an average, all countries have had difficulties in facing Ajmal”.