By Arjun Singh, IANS
Durban : When Rahul Dravid decided to step down as skipper of the Indian cricket team a few days ago, it was widely expected that the mantle for the shorter version of the game would pass to the dashing but mature Mahender Singh Dhoni.
On Tuesday, even while the selectors were busy picking the new ODI captain and team in Mumbai, the news had already been broken in Durban.
Sunil Dev, the manager of the Indian team playing in the Twenty20 World Championships spilled the beans to a couple of TV channels and the news was all over the place – that as expected, Dhoni was to be the new captain of the Indian one-day team.
But the celebrations will have to wait as Dhoni already has his hands full here in South Africa.
There is a Twenty20 match to be won against England on Wednesday evening if India is to entertain any thoughts of reaching the semi-finals of this carnival cup. And Dhoni will need all his coolness and maturity to lead India to victory in this crucial game.
England has lost two games on the trot in this event but they certainly can’t be called pushovers. But they are beset with problems both on and off the field.
Wicket-keeper Matt Prior is out with a broken thumb and if that wasn’t bad enough, captain Paul Collingwood has gone and embraced trouble here in Durban. The England captain was out having beer with some local friends here late on Monday night and that has not gone down too well with England’s cricket board.
Thus, the pressure is on Collingwood and India can capitalise on that and notch their first win in the Super Eight stage.
The Indian team management played down the captaincy issue and focussed on the game ahead.
Cricket manager Lalchand Rajput said that the players are all behind Dhoni and are happy for him. At the same time, they are aware there is a match to played on Wednesday and they are all concentrating on that.
Sunil Dev was also all praise for Dhoni.
“He really has a cool head. The way he handled the team in the match against Pakistan here was great. He looks relaxed and plans for every small detail. Even in that match, he himself picked the players for the bowl-out and they all did so well,” Sunil Dev said.
India has a few problem areas they need to address before Wednesday’s match.
Proven performer Yuvraj Singh has been off-colour thus far in this tournament and India badly need him to come good in this all-important game. May be Dhoni needs to talk to his senior team member.
Just a few days ago, while talking to the media here, Dhoni had said: “In the middle I’m the captain but off the field I’m a team member.”
If Dhoni can inspire his team members by being one of them off the field, in all probability they will give him their best on the field. India will need to be at their best on Wednesday evening if they are to quell the England challenge.
Likely teams:
India – Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthapa, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, R.P. Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth.
England – Darren Maddy, Vikram Solanki (wicketkeeper), Kevin Peiterson, Paul Collingwood (captain), Owais Shah, Luke Wright, Dmitri Mascarhenas, James Anderson, Andres Flintoff, Paul Schofield, Stuart Broad.