Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Dhoni confident India can retain T20 title

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is confident his team can retain the ICC World Twenty20 in England next month.

"I've got a team with outstanding talent. If we play to our potential, we can defend our title," Dhoni told reporters in the western Indian city of Mumbai, ahead of the team's departure for England on Friday.
"We're going to give it our best shot. Each player wants to do something special," said Dhoni, under whose captaincy India won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007. "Being defending champions doesn't put any additional pressure on us," said Dhoni, whose team is accustomed to the high expectations of a cricket-obsessed nation. "It's just an add-on pressure that we can handle."
"One cannot keep thinking about the outcome of matches, we can only focus on our preparation.""The IPL has really helped young players get accustomed to pressure situations, and international cricket is all about handling pressure.”
“We have Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh who have taken hat-tricks in the IPL. We also have Suresh Raina. Yusuf Pathan is there too," said the Indian skipper, who acknowledged the IPL for harnessing some of India’s talented cricketers.

He also seemed optimistic about the inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja in the squad saying, “We have someone like Ravindra Jadeja with limited international experience but with high talent. He has played against some top fast bowlers and spinners in the IPL and has learned to handle pressure."

No comments:

Post a Comment