Mumbai: Dhoni addressed the media before leaving for an overseas tour — the ICC Champions Trophy — he was bombarded with questions regarding the match-fixing claims that had surfaced in the IPL-6.
The ballroom of the luxurious airport-side hotel here had turned into an interrogation zone with journalists waiting to grill him.
On Sunday, a calm Dhoni, set to take his boys to South Africa for an important tour, answered the gathering again but there were no skirmishes. The change in mood can be attributed to Dhoni & Co’s consistent performances since the fixing saga erupted. India lifted the Champions Trophy, won the tri-series in the Caribbean, thumped Zimbabwe and clinched the ODI series at home against Australia and West Indies.
The ODI team is on a roll and the players seem to be in a relaxed environment.
India have only three days of practice time before the first ODI on December 5, but a confident Dhoni said his team was looking forward to the challenge. “It looks like it will be an interesting series as both teams are well balanced. While we have done well in ODIs, South Africa have performed well in Tests. I think it will be a good contest. The ODIs are to be played before the Tests and it will give us a little bit of time to adjust,” he said.
Dhoni said that his team would be under pressure as they have been before in every major series but the team's confidence is high. “Pressure goes hand in hand with the Indian cricket team and it doesn't matter whether you are playing at home or abroad. We are going through a good patch amd we will take that confidence forward.“
India have never won a Test series in South Africa before and the task just got difficult with Sachin Tendulkar retiring. The Master was the only centurion from India in the last Test series in 2010-11. Dhoni joked that he would prefer to skip the No. 4 position and would have an extra player at no. 12. He said that the batsman who will play in no. 4 spot should neither be burdened nor compared with Sachin.
“Whoever bats at no.4 will bring his own character. At this moment, we don’t know who will be batting at No. 4 but there is no replacing individual.” Dhoni said he was undecided on team’s composition yet and the team management would weigh their options after assessing the conditions and his team’s strength.
He however added that Gautam Gambhir, who was left out for the tour, remains India’s reserve opener.
