MS Dhoni, India's limited-overs captain, believes that with a
slew of power-hitters and all-rounders in the ranks, West Indies have
the ideal template for the shortest format of the game. The 35-year-old
wicket-keeper-batsman also reckoned that it would be a challenge for
India to overcome the explosive Caribbean side in the two-match Twenty20
International (T20I) series, starting on Saturday (August 27).
"West
Indies is an extraordinary team in the limited-overs format," Dhoni
told reporters on the eve of the first T20I. "Sometimes having one
all-rounder can give you balance. They have two or three. Power-hitters
become crucial in the smaller formats, and they have so many of them.
They also play an entertaining brand of cricket, so it will be a
challenge for us."
Dhoni took over the mantle of
captaining the Indian Test side from Anil Kumble in 2008. Fast forward
to 2016, Dhoni and Kumble will again join forces after the former
leg-spinner was appointed as the coach of the Indian set-up in June this
year. Dhoni acknowledged that playing under Kumble helped him to gain
valuable insights about the game and he is eagerly looking forward to
working with him again.
"He is a straightforward
guy who will tell you what he has to on your face," Dhoni said. "I
learnt a lot from him while playing with him. One of the things that
struck me was how he planned dismissals and went about his game. I was
amazed at his consistency and the thinking aspect he brought to the
game. It will also help him as a coach because you can't have the same
plan across different formats.
"I feel, the more
time I spend with him, the more I'll get to know him. I've known him as a
player. Now, I will know him as a coach. We've seen previously how
people are slightly different in both cases. He's calm, composed and
confident, and that will only help the team," he added.
Dhoni
retired from Test cricket in 2014, but he is still the incumbent
captain for the abridged versions of the game. His Test retirement has
helped him to take timely breaks, with his last international assignment
before this series being the tour of Zimbabwe. After having gone
through the rigours and the grind of playing top-flight cricket for more
than a decade, Dhoni said that the short break has provided him with
the opportunity to rejuvenate himself and maintain his fitness levels.
He also added it will help him in the long term to prolong his career.
"When
you have a break, it's easy to maintain fitness because there's enough
preparation time," Dhoni pointed out. "There has been a lot of rain in
India, which is a good thing since we needed that. So I trained indoors
with the bowling machine when it came to the skill aspect."
"During
a packed season, maintaining fitness becomes tough because you can't
put too much effort into it. You're constantly monitoring workloads.
When you have a break, you can plan your schedules. That's what I've
done so that it helps prolong my career. Overall, it's important to
relish the in-between time," he concluded.
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