Gaji
Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday accepted that the current England Test series is one of the hardest tours of his career.
"If you consider injuries, fitness, form, everything, there are quite a few things to worry about. It's hard to recall (any other) but it's among the most difficult tour I've been concerned in," he told a press discussion ahead of the third Test starting on Wednesday.
The tour has placed strange demands on the mental faculties of Indian cricketers, more so on Dhoni who has been on the road for almost a year and who has the added liability of keeping and leading the side.
"More than that, it's the physical aspect. However, more and more you play, the more experienced you get to train your mind to get out of it; the measures what needs to be taken.
"Of course, it's not easy; there are different ways for different individuals. Some prefer to have additional nets while others prefer to take their mind off cricket. It's what suits an entity," he said.
He did not out rightly decline the idea of fielding four medium pacers on a green track at Edgbaston in the third test.
"The wickets so far haven't assist spinners. It pushes us to think if we can play four fast bowlers, the slow over-rate doesn't bother us, what's significant we select the eleven suited to the track," said the Indian captain.
India presently has four fit medium-pacers in S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel. RP Singh, the substitute for Zaheer Khan, is yet to join the squad which in fact restricts the options for the tourists.
The other option of course would be to have either leg-spinner Amit Mishra or left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha make the playing eleven.
Despite opener Virender Sehwag's failure next to Northamptonshire in the warm-up match, Dhoni underlined the value the Delhi dasher brings to the side.
"There is no good reason why he shouldn't be playing. He is a dynamic player; he backs his instinct to play shots, irrespective of the bowler he is facing. He looks at the ball and gives it the action it deserves.
"He is a violent opener who has a big impact on opposition bowlers. He is a very good batsman to have in the side," he said.
Dhoni uttered anxiety on how his side failed to capitalise on the good positions between the 45th and 80th over during England's batting.
"We were in a position to control both games.
If we get into a similar situation, it's important we go in front and put further force on their batting which is quite deep.
It's significant how we bowl with the ball between 45-80 overs," he said.
Reacting to the riots in London and nearby areas, including Birmingham, Dhoni exposed he was shopping with a few other team-mates at the city centre before they returned and were then planning to leave for dinner when the violence broke out.
"Our security manager, Zaks told us it was better off if we stayed in hotel. It's sad (the riots), but there is not much we can do as persons or cricketers.
"There are worried authorities, as cricketers we even don't need to have a look at it. We should do what's in our control and that's preparing for the game. We are avoid things we can avoid," he said.
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