Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act

MONTEGO BAY, March 6: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is working out a schedule to be able to standing a lot more up to the stumps with an eagle's eye during the World Cup in the Caribbean.
If Dhoni is opening himself to missing byes and dropped catches, not to speak of looking an absolute idiot to millions on telly, it is with a good reason. Indians are expecting rival batsmen to leave their crease more often in order to unsettle bowlers whose biggest virtue is their nagging length and variety. Indians expect it to happen since wickets in the Caribbean would be generally low and slow and forceful strokes are only possible if batsmen can meet the ball on the full or leave their crease as often as possible. Dhoni's stand-up act would deter batsmen from doing so but he must back up his bravado with skills or it would back-fire big time. It is a tough ask as India has a bowlers' bunch which is as different as chalk is from the cheese--Zaheer Khan has late swing to go with deliveries which could bounce or skid; Munaf Patel can extract lift on even the docilest of surfaces, thanks to his height and high-arm action and Ajit Agarkar can bring in or veer it towards slips on command. And we have not discussed the guile and craft of two of world's finest spinners, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh yet. In the eyes of his mates, his standards in skills would be paramount since Dhoni already is an unconventional in more ways than one. He is tall and more sturdy than wicketkeepers generally are and he also does not sledge or pep-talk the batsmen as glovesmen usually do. Over the years, Indians have had some notable performers behind the stumps: Farookh Engineer was known for his word-bait; Kiran More and Nayan Mongia were not exactly the silent sorts and the likes of Sadanand Viswanath and Parthiv Patel could rattle the likes of Javed Miandad and Steve Waugh. Dhoni, in contrast, is ever smiling and avoids eye-contact with batsmen. The only concession he is apt to do on this gruelling and sapping tour is to cut his famous lock of hair to minimize the overheating in energy-sapping conditions. It also makes sense for with helmet mostly adorning his good-looking face, his hair are unlikely to make any fashion statement on this tour. Dhoni also has to come to terms with some well-meaning criticism from some of the greatest names in the stumpers' hall of fame. While Syed Kirmani does not like Dhoni collecting the balls sideways rather than come behind the line; West Indian legend Jeff Dujon is not exactly pleased with his movement down the legside. If this is not a mighty ask alone, just remember one has not come to discuss his batting yet!
courtesy:timesofindia