‘Would’ve been broken into pieces if I took pressure’

Dhoni defends captaincy but wants batsmen to stand up in Delhi.

DELHI:

MS Dhoni may be in doubt for today’s final One-Day International (ODI) but the Indian captain is adamant that the pressure, in the wake of a terrible show by his team, has failed to dampen his spirits.

Dhoni’s performance has been a consolation for India — he scored an unbeaten century in the opening ODI and followed that up with an unbeaten 54. But with his senior batsmen underperforming and his bowlers misfiring, critics have called for his head after terming him an unsuitable captain.

“If any of this affected me in the slightest, I would’ve been broken and the pieces scattered all over the place,” said Dhoni. “Everyone is entitled to an opinion and people think differently. But if I start giving all those comments too much time, there’s no way I’d be able to concentrate where it matters — in the middle. What’s important is for us to win the match.”

Batting remains main concern again

The world champions have lost four of their last nine ODIs but the series-loss against Pakistan and the manner in which the top-order folded in the last two matches – 29 for five in Chennai and 95 for five while chasing 251 at Eden Gardens – has been worrying for the team.

“We’ve lost the series already so it’s important to prepare for the next series. The problem is our batting. When you lose, you obviously feel bad. But it’s important to back the players when they’re going through a tough time. The thing is, everyone knows what mistakes they’re making. They should know the solution to this.”

Dhoni, while lauding the opponents for a composed display in both matches, added that things could have been different if Pakistan were tested at any point in the series.

“They’re a very balanced side and that’s the advantage they have. Five bowlers and then you get Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Plenty of bowling options and they’ve been performing consistently in every match. But it’s our fault that we’ve not been able to put them under any sort of pressure or things might’ve been different.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2013.