Dhoni will stick to Team India’s rotation policy; in-form Gambhir to sit out next

Sticking to Team India’s rotation policy, Indian skipper Maendra Singh Doni said team’s interest comes first and made it clear that in-form Gautam Gambhir is likely to sit out next.  While it is clear that the senior pros are not exactly happy that the rotation policy has been forced on them, apparently to groom youngsters for the next World Cup, the same youngsters seem to have the license to fail if the number of chances they are getting is any indication, writes The Times Of India.

“What we also want is to have all the players fit by the finals, if we make it. We should therefore give the youngsters enough exposure. We want all of them to be among runs. Rohit (Sharma) we all know is a very talented player, we also have Manoj Tiwary, who scored a century in the last ODI he had played.  We are giving ample chances to them because these are the players who will almost certainly come back to Australia when we play the next World Cup. There is no guarantee about some of us, including Sachin Tendulkar, Viru Sehwag and even Gautam Gambhir as we are all 30-plus. The interest of the team comes first and this is the time we should look to do that. Suppose we have some injuries by the end of the first leg, then we may not be in a position to give others a chance. Now we are in a position where we can do that,” clarified Dhoni.


Meanwhile, Captain Cool have drawn praises even from his rivals for his role as a finisher, reports the nespapers. “Dhoni is a class player. His statistics show it. He is a very good striker of the ball and you saw that in the last over with that six he hit off McKay,” said Michael Clarke.

Figures present the strongest claim in its support. Dhoni has been unbeaten in 30 of India’s 49 successful chases and scored runs at an average of 104.89 in them, says a report in The Tribune. The best in the business - Michael Bevan, Lance Klusener, Abdul Razzaq and Jonty Rhodes - are nowhere close. In his 200 matches, Dhoni has been unbeaten 50 times or in every fourth innings of his career. With 44 fifties and seven centuries, Dhoni is scoring at least a half century in every four innings. He averages 51.41 for his 6632 runs with a strike rate of 88.32. Bevan betters him in average - 53.58 - but his strike rate of 74.16 lets him down. Yuvraj Singh has a similar strike rate - 87.60 - but then his average of 37.62 is nowhere near.

Dhoni, however, is awestruck by the vitality of Yuvraj as a finisher, writes The Tribune. “The only one consistent lower down the order was Yuvraj Singh at number six. It’s a very difficult position to bat,” Dhoni has said. Indeed, no job in one-day cricket is as difficult as that of a finisher. The player ought to be able to hit big yet be capable of manoeuvring the field with deft placements. He needs to be an excellent judge of a run and must have the speed to convert a single into a brace.

Meanwhile according to newspapers report, Yuvraj Singh said he was inspired after getting a message from US cycling legend Lance Armstrong wishing him a speedy recovery.

"Message from @lancearmstrong makes me feel better! Thank you lance means a lot hope we can meet," tweeted Yuvraj, who is undergoing chemotherapy in the United States for a malignant tumour located between his lungs.

The ace all-rounder, named man of the tournament after India's World Cup win in April last year, already said he had been drawing inspiration from Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win the Tour de France seven times.

A photo of the message, posted on Yuvraj's twitter account, read: "Yuvi, I want you to know that the entire LIVESTRONG team is here for you.