I don't bother about expectations: Dhoni by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	MS Dhoni
Event:	ICC Champions Trophy 2009/10

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DateLine: 17th September 2009

 

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that expectations are always there when an Indian side plays but he and his mates are not bothered about those.

 

One of the reasons, according to the skipper that his side has done well off late is that they weren't bothered by expectation levels since they knew that if they won the rest would take care of itself.

 

"We think about how well-prepared we are for the games and focus on the small aspects like fitness, mental conditioning."

 

The skipper was speaking on the eve of India's departure to South Africa for the Champions Trophy.

 

Dhoni though admitted that the side needs to work a lot on the fielding and bowling departments. He said he was concerned about the sloppy fielding and inconsistent bowling on display recently.

 

"We have done well in patches. It is not that we are consistently doing well game after game" Dhoni said. He identified bowling as a problem area, saying the bowlers had "scope to improve" in the middle and final overs.

 

"We need to raise our fielding standards," Dhoni said bluntly. "It has gone down a bit for whatever reason. It has proved costly more often not. We are missing run-out opportunities and have dropped a few catches which could prove costly in any game. We are a bit concerned. Even our ground fielding, especially the boundary fielders, can make it hard for the opponents to get those extra runs."

 

Dhoni said that the fielders need to reduce every scoring opportunity for the opposition.

 

"If we can cut down as many as 20 runs from the opposition total that will be a big achievement."

 

Dhoni also denied living in past glory. His pragmatism was clear when he spoke about the forthcoming challenge in South Africa.

 

"We are in a tough group so it would be important not to allow any slip ups and perform well right from the beginning," he said. India are pooled with Australia, Pakistan and West Indies in Group A and open their campaign with a high-pressure encounter against their neighbours at Centurion on September 26.

 

Dhoni welcomed the return of Gautam Gambhir after the opener had to pull out of the tri-series in Sri Lanka due to a groin injury.

 

"His return will bring a lot of relief," Dhoni said. "Not only can he provide good starts but he can stay put till the end of the innings."