Dhoni urges India for one final push
India captain MS Dhoni has urged his side to finish their difficult summer with a flourish in Friday's final one-dayer against England in Cardiff.
They were beaten 4-0 in the Test series, lost the only Twenty20 and were 2-0 down with one no result going into the fourth one-dayer.
Dhoni has demanded his side - which has been decimated by injuries - to not relax now that the series is gone.
"Every game is important," Dhoni said.
"We may have lost the series but every game is an international game. It is important to get the most out of the final game and we want a victory."
For some of the younger players, Friday's match is their last opportunity to impress their captain before England play five one-dayers in India before Christmas.
Dhoni has lost eight players to injury on this tour, including big names such as Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and expects the youngsters to make way for the established players when they host the five-match series.
Players such as 22-year-old Ravindra Jadeja, 24-year-old Ravichandran Ashwin and 23-year-old Ajinkya Rahane have featured in this series but may have to take a back seat when the veterans are fit again.
Dhoni added: "We have quite a few players who we have to get fit and who will be back in the one-day squad.
"We will not be as good a fielding side as we are now but you shouldn't forget that most of the grounds in India are quite small and there is not as much opportunity for the batsmen to take twos and threes.
"Everybody is considered, but you have to see who is available. It becomes difficult when you have senior players who are missing this series.
"They always get the upper hand, so it is tough for the youngsters, but this is a good grooming period and once their time comes, we all know they will be there for the next five or ten years."
No comments:
Post a Comment