Perth:Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday hit back at former cricketers criticising his captaincy in the ongoing Test series against Australia, saying that he was not bothered by them as he would get brickbats even after taking right decisions. India play their third Test Down Under at Perth starting on Friday.
Dhoni admitted that he was not right all the time but the critics would comment otherwise even if he had taken a right decision.
“You have to take it in stride. It looks easier from the outside, it’s easier to comment on decisions. More often than not, you see the result and then comment,” he told reporters at the pre-match press conference.
“At times I get it wrong and at times I don’t get it wrong but it’s people who feel I’ve got it wrong,” said Dhoni rather coyly to criticism about his captaincy from former cricketers.
Dhoni also defended Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma who were involved in unsavoury incidents with the fans and laid the blame on the aggressive behaviour of fans.
“When I have a chat with few players, you realize that somebody starts something and it’s the retaliator who gets stuck and punished. Everybody (the fans) is fantastic in the morning but after tea, after a couple of barrels of beer down, it becomes difficult. If you see Aussie fans they are quite verbal and aggressive.”
Dhoni was also in no mood to spare former Australian opener Michael Slater who commented on the lack of hurt visible among the Indians for the two losses in the series.
“It’s not really true. It depends on what he (Slater) means by it. If you lost two matches and sit on the ground and weep for four hours, and if it means it is hurting then definitely we are grown up boys and we can’t do that,” Dhoni said in a sarcastic tone. The Indian team also got criticism from the likes of former captain Sunil Gavaskar for taking off from practice sessions more than necessary, but Dhoni said that was not the case.
“We are a side which practices a lot. Indeed, we are trying to reduce the hours we spend in practice. We usually spend close to four hours every day in sessions. We try to rest as much as possible and recreational activity help us do it,” he said. Dhoni said his side could make a comeback in the series at the WACA and that the Australian batting, especially the top order, has looked vulnerable.
“We will have to target top order again. If you do so, you are able to bowl to middle order with the new ball. As we have seen in Australia, it does not swing after the first 20 overs, so it’s important you get early breakthroughs,” he said.
“Every side has weakness. It depends on how quickly you adapt.
“We can make a comeback. Whether we have performed to our potential or not you would only know after the match. We have prepared well and hopefully it would reflect on the field,” Dhoni said.
The Indian skipper said he will take a call on the bowling combination depending on how much grass is left on the pitch.
India: MS Dhoni (c), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Wriddhimaan Saha, Rohit Sharma.
Australia: Michael Clarke (c), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ryan Harris, Mitchel Starc, Nathan Lyon.(PTI)