MS Dhoni feels current T20 team can play anywhere in the world
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that the current Indian team is a balanced side and it can “take on any team anywhere in the world” at least in the shortest format of the game. The Skipper commented after his team notched yet another T20I win to make it nine wins out of the last ten matches they played.
“Well if you see, more often than not, the team that we have played with (this year in T20's), looks like a team that can play in any condition, especially in this format. Let's not talk about the 50-over format. But in T20s, we can play with this team anywhere in the world,” Dhoni said after India crushed the United Arab Emirates team by 9 wickets.
Balanced Side
According to him, the team looks like a very balanced side as they have three proper seamers, two spinners and effective part-timers if needed. He also spoke about the batting strength that India possess with batsmen till no 8 and that gives India the impetus to chase daunting targets as well.
Dhoni was at his wittiest best when a Bangladeshi scribe asked him a long and twirling question which had the underlying intention of extracting the fact that whether it is the last time the skipper is playing in Bangladesh or not.
“I'm not getting rid of myself so soon. Bangladesh will have to face me more often than not. This is one occasion when the question was longer than the answer.” Dhoni smiled and everyone present in the conference room had a good laugh.
However, Dhoni admitted the fact that the upcoming Asia Cup final is going to be a tough one as Bangladesh knows the conditions well.
But Dhoni also assessed the fact that, “A lot depends on which team plays better cricket. In this format the difference between the two teams can often be just one knock, one individual having a very good day or one bowler having a very good day. The difference between a good team and not-so-good team can be just a performance on that particular day. So I feel it will be a very good final.”
He feels that India need to neutralise the big hitters in Bangladesh team and they also shouldn’t allow any particular bowler to have an outstanding day.
Executing the plans
Dhoni also rejected the idea of ‘unfair home advantage’ and said,” I don't think the home team have an unfair advantage as such. We've also played four five games here. It gives us a good idea about the wicket and what the conditions are. Lot will depend on what kind of cricket we play on that particular day. It is not about how strong. It is all about how you have executed your plans.
He also clarified that there are no injury concerns as of now and the team is well prepared for T20 World Cup as well.
It seems that the Indian captain is super-confident about his team composition. But he knows one thing for sure that in a format like T20 you can never take anything for granted. So the final is going to be an exciting one for sure.