India carry a lot of confidence into World T20, says MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni with the Asia Cup trophy

Indian limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni referred to Team India’s victory in the final of the Asia Cup as special as it has come just before the ICC World T20. The Indian team defeated Bangladesh by 8 wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur to win a record 6th Asia Cup title.

Speaking after the final, Dhoni said that his team was full of confidence ahead of the World T20 as the players know exactly what their strengths are.

"Special because of circumstances, before getting into the World Cup. If you see the kind of performances that the team has given, they will carry a lot of confidence into the World Cup. They know what has been really going well for them, what their strengths are," he said.

The Indian skipper, who led the Men in Blue to victory in the first ever ICC World T20 in 2007, explained the difference between moving from different formats of the game and mentioned that moving from playing Test cricket to T20 cricket is one of the toughest things to do.

"I've always said that from T20 format, you can get into the Test format but one of the most difficult things to do is to move from the Test format to T20. It's always more difficult. As senior players always tell you, 'you have to put a price tag on your wicket', 'make it tough for the bowler to take your wicket'. But at times in T20, you actually have to tell them, 'don't worry about the wicket.'

"Even if you get out off the first delivery or second delivery it's okay. So, at times, it becomes much more difficult to convince yourself, especially if you have learned from your senior cricketers to put a price tag on your wicket, it becomes difficult to ignore that. Getting into the World Cup, hopefully, we can carry forward the momentum we have got," he said.

Dhoni praises Dhawan and spinners

 

Dhoni had a lot of praise for opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who was named the Man of the Match for his knock of 60 in the final. The left-handed batsman had struggled in the league stage of the tournament, having scored just 19 runs from 3 matches.

"As far as Shikhar is concerned, it was a well-paced innings. In between, he slowed down but I don't think we needed a lot of runs. It was the best batting wicket of the tournament and I thought our bowlers did a good job in restricting them to 120 runs and we had the firepower to get them," Dhoni said.

The former Chennai Super Kings captain also feels that Indian spinners are ‘special’ in whichever format they are playing in. While in Test cricket, spinners would need some assistance from the pitch, Dhoni feels it is a different ball game in the T20 format.

"I feel spinners are always special irrespective of the format. At times, they might not get a lot of purchase when it comes to Test cricket, but when it comes to this format it's not very easy to get away with just playing the big shots. You have to manouver around a bit. That's where spinners are very good. If they have some kind of assistance, they can exploit it.

"I think spinners will always have that special aura around them. And maybe it was only us who were playing with so many spinners. But the quality of spinners matter. Our spinners did really well. Even when there was less deviation, I think they varied pace and line and were able to contribute. That's good," he said.

Where does Shami fit in?

Dhoni was also asked about Mohammed Shami, who is likely to return to the Indian squad for the World T20 after sitting out for almost a year. Shami was India’s premier fast bowler until he endured an injury-ridden period after last year’s 50-over World Cup.

According to the Indian skipper, Jasprit Bumrah is a shoe-in when it comes to the playing XI at the World T20 while Ashish Nehra and Shami could battle it out for the other slot when it comes to opening the bowling.

"I think it's very difficult to replace Bumrah. He has the strength of bowling yorkers at will and with the new ball also he has contributed. Hardik Pandya is again a fast bowling all-rounder. If Jadeja or him can bat at No. 8 and they can give me three or four overs, then it looks like a better-balanced side.

"For Shami to replace, it would be Ashish (Nehra). Ashish's is the only slot but to replace Ashish would be very tough. The reason being he's done very well for us, he's moved the ball around. But again Shami has a bit of time. He will have to prove his fitness in the warm-up games. If he does, he will stay ahead with the team. If he's unfit or he's not able to deliver the way he has to then he will have to make way for somebody else," he added.