da bwin： Mahendra Singh Dhoni hopes India’s victory in the CB Series will silence those who criticised the youth-oriented squad selection for the tournament
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan and Nagraj Gollapudi19-Mar-2008
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: “I was pretty clear about the players I wanted in the side” © Getty Images
Mahendra Singh Dhoni hopes India’s “significant” victory in the CBSeries will silence those who criticised the youth-oriented squad selection for the tournament. Asserting his role in the selection of the young one-dayside – he is India’s ODI captain – he said it was “sometimes very important to send the messageacross”.”I was pretty clear about the players I wanted in the side,” Dhoni told Cricinfo in a revealing interview where he spoke about theselection controversy for the first time. “That’s what Isaid to the selectors as well. You can see the kind of team I got.”The team’s selection became controversial afterSourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were left out. While some criticised the decision to drop the seniors, others questioned thetiming of the selection, a day after the historic win in the PerthTest. The selection also created a few ripples in the dressing room, it waslearnt then.Dhoni, though, is clear the time had come for a tough decision to be taken and feltvindicated after the final triumph. “It’s very important because theprocess and the timing were criticised a lot,” he said. “But sometimes it is very important to send the message across, because sometimes people neglect the answer.”He said he pointed out to the ODI team the questions that were being raised about the players and told them to perform.It’s evident that the criticism rankles even after winning the tournament. “What now? Whyare people not asking the same questions now? Because if the result wasnot in our favour, what would have happened? Would the peoplehave been really behind this side or behind individuals?”A majority of the team had not played in Australia earlier and certainsections raised questions about their ability to handle demandingconditions. India’s pathetic display in the one-off Twenty20 was seenas a sign of things to come but Dhoni was happy his side had overcomethe odds.”You [the critics] questioned this side but now that it’s performed you need to backit,” he said of India’s first one-day series win in Australiain 23 years. “We all knew, and you all knew, what would have happenedif this side didn’t do well in Australia. Now that it has done well,why don’t you appreciate the performance?”We had one of the worst flops in Twenty20 and one of the best wins in theODI series. Beating Australia is tough. That’s why they have thebest-of-three finals. You can have one good day and beat them butbeating them in two consecutive matches is a significant achievement.”We had set thestandards back in India, when we played [the ODI series] against Australia. We knewwhat we really wanted to do on the field. If we were not up to the markin Australia, people would have said it was fake aggression, something just forthe public when playing at homeDhoni made it clear that the aggressive tactics against Australia werepremeditated, going so far as to ensure that a few individuals madelife difficult for the opposition. “In the CB Series you hardly sawany conflict between India and Sri Lanka,” he said. “We had set thestandards back in India, when we played [the ODI series] against Australia. We knewwhat we really wanted to do on the field. If we were not up to the markin Australia, people would have said it was fake aggression, something just forthe public when playing at home. We were with the same setof standards even when we played against Australia in Australia. Itwas not fake aggression, that’s how this team can play.”Did he think the best way to beat Australia was by playing their brandof cricket? “If your playing against an aggressive side, you need toplay an aggressive game,” he said. “Especially against Australia, youcan’t just look to play and win – it’s batting, bowling, fielding,aggression, everything. Fortunately this side has got a few playerswho can speak and do well at the same time and won’t get disturbed by it. And there are others who don’t speak that much.”But you need to identify those who can be pepped up and do well whilethey’re speaking. In a way I’m fortunate to have those players in theside, rather than ask those who are not comfortable doing it. If youhave a guy who is able to do it and who should do it, I make it apoint that he is doing it. I won’t name names but there wereindividuals who were saying things, within the boundaries.”Despite all the elation over the win, Dhoni said it wasimportant not to get carried away with this victory and urged hisplayers to cultivate the winning habit. “Of course you can’t live byit,” he said of the recent win. “You need to perform consistently andif you’re raising the standard you have to stand by it. You have tokeep on doing well.”