Colombo: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has proved that his decisions are always based on cricket logic rather than emotions. He had come under heavy criticism for dropping Virender Sehwag and for persisting with Yuvraj Singh, who many believe is not fit enough yet for international cricket after his recovery from cancer.
Wearing a broad smile, Dhoni walked into the press conference after leading India to yet another victory over arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. When asked what prompted him to select Sehwag, he made it very clear that he was not picked because of any pressure and made clear that his team selection is based on specific requirements for each match.
“I think it is horses for courses,” he said. “Whatever suits the conditions best, we will look to play that. It depends what kind of wicket we play on when we play our next game.”
Sehwag, who has been out of form, played a fine knock of 29 runs against Pakistan and put on 74 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli which tilted the match in India’s favour.
On Sunday, Dhoni was keen to prove that he is the boss when it comes to taking the right decision. Following criticism over Yuvraj Singh’s inclusion, he said: “Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] was already in the team, it wasn’t even a consideration whether he would play or not. Especially when we play with seven batsmen, the part-timers’ role becomes important. Virat [Kohli] is an option, but it is also a very good option to have a left-arm spinner, someone who takes the ball away from the right-hand batsman. Everyone knows Yuvraj is a very good fielder and today he had a good run-out, too. If we play with four bowlers, it will be difficult to keep Yuvraj out of the team. And the way he batted today, it will give him a lot of confidence.”
Yuvraj certainly silenced his critics after bagging two for 16 from three overs, including a direct hit to score a run-out, and hitting an unbeaten 19 off 16 balls to help India to victory.
Dhoni, in answer to those who questioned Yuvraj Singh’s fitness, said: “As far as this format is concerned, he looks very fit. He has done a lot of work in the last few months. It’s not like he is playing straight away in the Twenty20 World Cup. Before this, he spent a lot of time at the National Cricket Academy and played a bit of domestic cricket, including a few Twenty20 games. I am not really concerned about his fitness. As I said, this batting performance will give him a lot of confidence because, even if you are playing domestic cricket, you don’t get bowlers who bowl at international level. He will take a lot of positives out of the matches he’s played in this tournament and we all know that once he gets going, he is a terrific batsman to have in the side.”
Dhoni also defended his team’s bowlers over recent criticism and insisted the fact that the ball was wet contributed to the defeat to Australia on Friday.
He said: “I told you the ball got wet; it was really difficult for the bowlers to bowl their variations. We don’t have bowlers who bowl at 145kmph. We have got bowlers who bowl slightly slower but, at the same time, they have got the skill to get batsmen out.”
Wearing a broad smile, Dhoni walked into the press conference after leading India to yet another victory over arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. When asked what prompted him to select Sehwag, he made it very clear that he was not picked because of any pressure and made clear that his team selection is based on specific requirements for each match.
“I think it is horses for courses,” he said. “Whatever suits the conditions best, we will look to play that. It depends what kind of wicket we play on when we play our next game.”
Sehwag, who has been out of form, played a fine knock of 29 runs against Pakistan and put on 74 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli which tilted the match in India’s favour.
On Sunday, Dhoni was keen to prove that he is the boss when it comes to taking the right decision. Following criticism over Yuvraj Singh’s inclusion, he said: “Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] was already in the team, it wasn’t even a consideration whether he would play or not. Especially when we play with seven batsmen, the part-timers’ role becomes important. Virat [Kohli] is an option, but it is also a very good option to have a left-arm spinner, someone who takes the ball away from the right-hand batsman. Everyone knows Yuvraj is a very good fielder and today he had a good run-out, too. If we play with four bowlers, it will be difficult to keep Yuvraj out of the team. And the way he batted today, it will give him a lot of confidence.”
Yuvraj certainly silenced his critics after bagging two for 16 from three overs, including a direct hit to score a run-out, and hitting an unbeaten 19 off 16 balls to help India to victory.
Dhoni, in answer to those who questioned Yuvraj Singh’s fitness, said: “As far as this format is concerned, he looks very fit. He has done a lot of work in the last few months. It’s not like he is playing straight away in the Twenty20 World Cup. Before this, he spent a lot of time at the National Cricket Academy and played a bit of domestic cricket, including a few Twenty20 games. I am not really concerned about his fitness. As I said, this batting performance will give him a lot of confidence because, even if you are playing domestic cricket, you don’t get bowlers who bowl at international level. He will take a lot of positives out of the matches he’s played in this tournament and we all know that once he gets going, he is a terrific batsman to have in the side.”
Dhoni also defended his team’s bowlers over recent criticism and insisted the fact that the ball was wet contributed to the defeat to Australia on Friday.
He said: “I told you the ball got wet; it was really difficult for the bowlers to bowl their variations. We don’t have bowlers who bowl at 145kmph. We have got bowlers who bowl slightly slower but, at the same time, they have got the skill to get batsmen out.”
![[JUGRAJ SINGH]](https://www.unp.me/data/avatars/s/123/123038.jpg?1591210006){kind=avatar}
