Dhoni men left to London for T20 World Cup
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team left for London on Friday morning to defend their World Twenty20 title.
The team would have a week in England to get used to the conditions. India have their first game against Bangladesh on June 6. But before that they play warm-up matches against New Zealand next Monday and against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Most of the players in the current team played in the Indian Premier League in South Africa and the team is regarded as favourites by quite a few experts around the world.
Dhoni and his squad before leaving to England for ICC T20 World Cup
Before leaving to England, the skipper said in a press conference that his team is a little bit tired after the IPL but is confident that India would retain the T20 World Cup.
Dhoni further added that they did not feel the need for a warm up session as they have had enough practice through this IPL. He was pleased with the fact that he had plenty of options with regards to non-regular bowlers, especially in spin department and that all his players have the experience of handling pressure by playing in the IPL.
Part timers Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma had taken hat-tricks in IPL and Suresh Raina, and Yusuf Pathan had been good over the tournament. Ravindra Jadeja was praised for his high talents inspite of his limited international experience.
The 27-year-old Indian skipper was not too concerned about the team’s opening combinations in both batting and bowling when queried about the indifferent forms of opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and bowlers Ishant Sharma and an injured Zaheer Khan.
Dhoni said the team members would have to make best use of the days they have at their disposal after reaching England prior to Indias opening match.
Dhoni was confident that good cricket-playing wickets would be in evidence during the competition that ends on June 21.
Dhoni also brushed aside concerns that the team would be fatigued by now after playing non-stop cricket since the tour to New Zealand earlier this year and the IPL.
Tags: England, ICC T20 World Cup, Indian Team, London, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, MS Dhoni, T20 world cup 2009, T20 World Cup News, World Cup T20, Yuvraj Singh
