Team India are coming off a T20I series win at home against a depleted Sri Lanka side. It was the same side that sent a few chills down the spine in the first of the three T20Is, but India came back strong and showed their mettle wrapping up the next two T20Is with relative ease. With two back to back wins under their belt and a T20I series win against Australia, India are now set to start their Asia Cup campaign in Bangladesh on a positive note.
India captain MS Dhoni was happy to carry some T20 games and a winning momentum under the belt going into the Asia Cup. “The good thing is we played three games in Australia, and then we played in Sri Lanka. It gave us the time to settle into the format,” Dhoni said.
“From the team's perspective, the important thing would be to make sure you keep repeating your performances and do well for the team. It's good for us that we are getting these games before the T20 World Cup. We can try a few things. Often you don't get too many games before the World T20 so it's good to have some games to get into the groove.”
Dhoni also hinted at using these games to good advantage before the all important T20 World Cup. “We will try to give everybody a game. It is important to play with a settled team but at the same time it is necessary for everyone to have a game under their belt. I feel the conditions in Bangladesh will allow us to give others opportunity. It's important to keep everyone fit. If everybody gets a chance to play it will be very good for us. Having said that, we will look to win games and that is top priority.”
India’s comprehensive wins in Australia and in the home series against Sri Lanka showed what a dominant T20I side India could be. With an influx of fresh faces in the batting and bowling department, India look a complete T20I side. They have the perfect combination of youth and experience and such is the resources at the bench, that it can perform according to the given situation. A fact that even Dhoni agreed to. “I have immense belief in this team and I feel it has all the talent required to win a big tournament. This team has all the ingredients. Ultimately you have to go and do well on the field.”
However, the most important jigsaw of late has been India’s batting order. There have been times when Dhoni has walked into bat earlier than Yuvraj Singh, and at times, it has been an early promotion for hard-hitting Hardik Pandya. Ajinkya Rahane batted at No.3 in Virat Kohli’s absence and is bound to find it tough to make it to the playing eleven with Kohli’s return to the side.
Dhoni explained the batting order conundrum. “A lot of responsibility is shared by the top order depending on the platform. In a normal scenario, I don't see myself batting higher up the order because of the batting order we have. If we have a partnership where everyone is doing well till 18th or 19th over, then I can promote myself. Other than that, in a normal scenario I don't see myself giving that promotion. You have Virat at 3 followed by Yuvraj and Suresh Raina and me coming in followed by Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya. But, we will try a few combinations if there is a good partnership in the middle.”
