Troika needs rest: Dhoni

Indian rotation policy has made headlines over the last fortnight, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, probably unintentionally, revealed the true thought behind resting one of the top three – Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir – by turns.

The team management has adopted the policy considering the size of Australian grounds that would have made it tough for the aforementioned trio to bring out their best while fielding. Over to Dhoni then.

“It may happen (all three playing together). But it will affect our fielding in a big way. That means there will be more pressure on the batsmen to score those extra 20 runs. But then if the middle-order does not perform consistently, you may have to go with the experienced guys at the top,” Dhoni said.

Emphasising the importance of giving rest to the troika he said, “Cricket has changed. I am not saying that they are not good or bad fielders. They are safe fielders but on the slower side, which means the pressure will be on them. There will be more pressure on their body and there will be more breakdowns.

“So, till we are in a scenario where we can afford to play Rohit, Raina… even a Manoj Tiwary, it will slightly easy on them, they can take a break and come back fresh. It’s not like in India where a ball boy throws the ball back. Here, you have to run, and there’s the chance of pulling a muscle or a hamstring. In Australian grounds, they will be exploited.”

Dhoni also underlined the significance of saving runs on the field, and said young legs were an unavoidable part in this process. “If you see, the last few games that we played, we got two or three run outs and that really had a big impact.

“In this way, they are scoring in every game through saving runs on the field. Batting and bowling can be fluctuating but fielding is one department where you can always score.”