T20 World Cup: Dhoni backs India to defend trophy
MS Dhoni expects India to be tough to beat at the T20 World Cup
Former India captain MS Dhoni says the current team have “everything” to compete at the T20 World Cup, which gets underway on Saturday.
India start as favourites given the strength of their line-up and the fact they are co-hosting the tournament with Sri Lanka.
And Dhoni, who led his country to the title in 2007, is confident the team captained by Suryakumar Yadav are the complete package as they look to become the first nation to defend the trophy.
“What is needed in a good team, everything is there,” Dhoni said. “They have the experience, especially when it comes to this format, the experience is vast. They have played under pressure. Whoever is playing, whatever roles they are playing in the team, they have been in that situation for a considerable period of time.”
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Dhoni worried by dew
India’s depth at this format is frightening with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal not able to break into the XI.
There are things they cannot control, however, such as the toss and the impact of the dew that can often affect matches on the sub-continent, helping chasing teams.
Dhoni added: “What worries me, again, I hate dew. Dew changes a lot of things. Even when I was playing, something that really scared me was dew, where the toss becomes crucial and all of that.”
T20 cricket is unpredictable, admits former India captain Dhoni
The only other element that could hamper India’s chances is the very nature of T20 cricket – a crash-bang-wallop format that includes an element of risk.
“If we are playing 10 matches against some of the best teams, we will come out as winners more often than not, if the conditions are neutral and all of that,” said Dhoni.
“The problem is when some of your players have a day off and somebody from the opposition has a brilliant day, and it can happen in T20 cricket. So that’s the time – whether in the league stage or the knockout stage, that’s where all the praying is needed.
“You know, nobody should get injured. Whatever roles are given, people should accomplish their roles for the team. And if that’s the case, I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s one of the most dangerous teams.”
India open their campaign against the United States at the weekend.