Mahendra Singh Dhoni hasn?t had the time to get out of the team formal wear yet after enduring the 12-hour flight. The Estee Lauder perfume purchases off the duty free blocks at Heathrow have lost their fragrance, but the charming smile of India?s new skipper was intact, and it wasn?t a forced one.
Asked to pose with the Twenty20 Trophy, Dhoni let his sense of humour flow ? just like his trademark hairstyle ? ?Do I get to keep this with me then??
For the time being, he just got to hold it in his hands, and the seriousness flowed in instantly. ?Do you feel like a champion now, Mahi,? a question popped out as the flashbulbs came out in a frenzy? ?I will tell you in some day?s time, mate,? he replied.
In the little time Dhoni had since the team?s British Airways flight landed at 7 am local time, he chatted up a debutant in the team who plays a major role in the 14-day tournament ? cricket manager Lalchand Rajput. ?I have come here with an open mind and we have got 48 hours more to talk to each other and strategise,? said Rajput.
?We need to have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C because everything happens very quickly here.?
Dhoni agreed, ?Twenty20 is very exciting format, the crowd comes here expecting 4s, 6s and wickets and at any stage of the match, the crowd never gets bored. I would says it?s slightly inclined towards the batsman, but bowlers too can make an impact with the new ball doing a bit and batsmen not having time to settle in.
?It?s a form of game which changes every couple of overs, so you have to be ready with your homework and have three or four plans ready? Dhoni said. ?You need to make split-second decisions, stay open-minded and take the best alternative.?
India had no warm-ups ahead of their campaign (neither did England), but they have a plethora of attacking batsmen, and some can bowl too. There is variety to choose from three spinners and five seamers.
Tiredness can?t be allowed to seep in ? India play their first match versus Scotland on Thursday ? ?When you are playing for India you are always busy,? Dhoni says as a matter of fact. But there are six fresh pairs of legs to provide the momentum for the other ten. ?It?s not how fresh or tired you are; of course it?s exhaustive, but one has to remember that this is the World Cup.?
It?s a World Cup, no less, maybe a chance to redeem pride lost in the West Indies early this year? Actually, it?s a chance to enjoy the cricket. ?The basic problem with us cricketers is that we don?t enjoy the game, we get too much into it. I just want my team to enjoy the game. I am not looking at it as a chance for redemption. It?s a fresh start in this tournament,? he says.
A fresh start for a lot of men in that team too. With the likes of Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Joginder Sharma combining with newcomers Yusuf Pathan, there?s lot at stake, performance wise. The batting line-up with Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni looks potentially explosive. On paper at least. Leadership, says Dhoni, is about the response you get from the XI. The response will be out shortly.