May 29th, 2009 
Aman 
Dhoni has assured that India will retain the T20 Champion title. He is satisfied with the squad and said that this is a balanced side with some outstanding talent. There is no pressure on the boys. India is the defending champions of the tournament about to begin on June 5 in England. India will be playing its first game on June 6 against Bangladesh. Dhoni said India has a strong batting side as we bat right down till #8-9. This is also known to Dhoni that India has a strong bowling attack as well as he mentioned in the pre departure match conference. India has some outstanding talents like Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Dhoni himself who can change the course of game anytime. All they need is to focus on the potential that they have and they will have to use the same to retain the title. Dhoni advised not to worry about the result just focus on playing to their potential. He said team will have to give its 100 percent and it can defend the title for sure.
Team India is tired after a hectic IPL which was played in South Africa and Dhoni knows it. However he said that it has on the other hand helped the players to hone their skills for the World Cup. Since most of the players who have played in the IPL were from India and all the team members of the T20 Squad of India were part of the IPL so they now have the hang of it. They had the practice of almost more than 50 days which would be sufficient for the team to retain the title. Playing so many matches would make you tired as we are humans and not machines but the exposure that team India got and the skills they have developed would be helpful. The most important thing is the experience. In the superfast game of twenty 20 all you need to know is how to handle the pressure. While batting first there is a pressure of setting a huge target and thus batsmen play under pressure which is harmful. Same is the case while chasing as there is lot to achieve in just 20 overs. Just one missed ball could cost you a defeat at the end of the game. On the bowling front it is the pressure of retaining the opponent to the minimum score possible. Dhoni is happy with the fact that he has lot of options when it comes to the non regular bowlers. In fact in the spin department all the players have some experience in handling the pressure. With the kind of bowling Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh has done in the IPL, if the same continues no one can defeat India. Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan are no less if you look at the statistics of the IPL.
Though there are some lesser experienced players as well like Ravinder Jadeja however their form in the T20 IPL was excellent and it was evident that they are very good at handling the pressure. In the times of crisis Jadeja has played well in IPL. Also he has faced world’s top bowling attacks pace and spin both when he faced Brett Lee and Murali respectively. This has helped him learn a lot as to how to handle the pressure. Though some of the cricket pundit has some concerns about the opening pair of India however Dhoni seems to be not bothered about it. For batting he has the clear thought about Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and on the bowling front it would go to Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.
All is well that ends well. This is not the over confidence but the confidence that Dhoni has in his team mates and above all in himself that he can lead from the front. We wish Dhoni and his team all the very best. Jai HO….
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