one of M.S. Dhoni's many remarkable qualities is his immunity to hype — both his own and the opposition's.
When the Indian captain met the press here on Monday afternoon, he was asked various versions of this question: given the Australian cricket team's current state, particularly after the Test defeat to New Zealand, was it India's best opportunity to win a series in Australia?
“It is not like that,” said Dhoni. “We have to play to the kind of talent we have and not worry about such things. We need to work on our strengths and weaknesses, not worry about the opposition we are playing.”
What about Australia's bowling attack? Hadn't it been weakened greatly by injury? Dhoni let coach Duncan Fletcher take the question. “We will have to make that decision after we play them,” said Fletcher.
Have to be wary
“At the end of the day, if we are complacent, we'll get a fright. It is important that we go there with the feeling that they have the best of bowling attacks and good batsmen in their rank. They do have some cricketers who are out of form, but we have to be wary and keep them out of form.”
Both Dhoni and Fletcher spoke of the importance of keeping the Indian squad injury-free for the four Tests. One of the reasons for India's 0-4 clean-sweep in England earlier this year was the loss of spearhead Zaheer Khan on the first day of the first Test. Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Praveen Kumar also suffered injuries during the tour, affecting the balance of the batting and bowling units.
“If you see the injury list, it is quite blank as of now,” said Dhoni.
“That takes a bit of pressure off. You need not worry about the playing eleven that much and most of players get their berths on merit. Hopefully we will not have too many injuries before the start of the Test series. But we need to do well on the field rather than think about how we look on paper.”
Fletcher was optimistic about Zaheer's chances of making an impact in Australia.
“From the reports that I get, Zaheer came to Mumbai and bowled at the nets there and he looked impressive. I think it is very important that he looked to be in very good condition from what we saw of him even when he came to England. Secondly, he got these two [Ranji Trophy] games in.
“The three-day game there [in Australia] will be important for him before the first Test. We do not want to rush him too quickly.”
The Indian captain admitted that the bowling, save for Zaheer, was inexperienced, but said it had the talent to get the job done.
“The catching will be very crucial, it has to support the bowling,” he added.
Dhoni said it was important the squad make judicious use of the days preceding the first Test. Fletcher spoke of the danger of imagining perils.
“The wickets in Australia are not as bouncy as people make them out to be,” said India's coach.
“It's crucial we don't over-react. Hopefully the nets we get will be similar [to those in the middle], and we can adapt.”
The final batch of India's cricketers, including the captain and the members of the one-day squad against West Indies, left for Australia on Monday night.
India will play two practice matches in Canberra before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.