T20 format has undergone a lot of change: MS Dhoni

George Bailey of Australia shakes hands with MS Dhoni of India after the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 match between India v Australia at Sher-e-Bangla Mirpur Stadium on March 30, 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Since Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over as the Indian captain back in 2007, he has led India to victories in the World T20, 50-over World Cup and also the Champions Trophy last year. Dhoni, the most successful Indian captain based on the statistics, has also taken India to the top spot in all the 3 formats at different points of time during his captaincy career, albeit finding it difficult to help his team sustain the spot.

According to NDTV, when the Indian captain was asked about the change that he has observed in the T20 format since 2007, Dhoni replied, “Well, I see a lot more media out here then what it was back then.”

He said: “No one took the tournament seriously back then. It was one group going from England to South Africa while another group came from India. T20 was discussed in a joking way. They would mic-up the players (set with microphones). There was bowl-out then. We practiced a lot of bowl-outs and had fun. We won against Pakistan in a bowl out.”

“A lot has indeed changed as the game has become much more intense nowadays. The batsmen are trying to play all those innovative shots.”

On a lighter note, he added: “Now when I look at the mirror, I can see a lot of grey beard!”

On being asked about the pressure of expectations from the fans, Dhoni said that the expectation of one fan is similar to the expectations of billions of fans: “It’s like having 100 kg put over you. That’s good enough to weigh you down. After that even if you put a mountain, it will not make a difference.”

On Ravindra Jadeja’s below-par performances in the ongoing T20 World Cup, the Indian captain said: “Judging every performance with statistics is a difficult thing to do. Look everybody gets hit. It depends on the kind of shots that the batsman is playing. If it’s a rash shot that goes for boundary, then the bowler is not doing a bad job. But if you have to judge, whether it is a bad delivery or a good shot. That’s what I try to analyse standing behind the stumps.”