Yuvi absence a blow: Dhoni

“He has been an asset in the past few years. He is a pillar on which we rely a lot, especially in the middle overs. It’s difficult to replace an in-form Yuvraj. But you can’t do much when injuries happen,” the Indian skipper observed. “Nowadays every practice session you go into, you have to give your 100 percent. Injuries are part of cricket now. But with Viru (Sehwag) also not being there, all of a sudden we have lost two of our part-time bowlers. It will be tough to fill Yuvraj’s space not only in batting but also in bowling.”

Acknowledging the Indo-Pak rivalry, Dhoni continued, “When you turn up on the field, you want to win games. But you don’t want to put pressure on yourself by thinking we’re playing against Pakistan, we have to win. What we want to do is enjoy our cricket, do our best. Of course there is more intensity on the field. Both sides are quite aggressive, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re playing just another team at the top-most level.

“Pakistan are a tough side. When they’re doing really well, they’re capable of beating any side. Ultimately, if you think too much about Pakistan, you pressurise yourself and your chances of being successful go down considerably.” Dhoni arrived here in 2007 as skipper of an inexperienced T20 team, and left the shores with the World Cup in his bag. This time around, India are the number one one-day side in the world. “The expectation level goes up, that’s for sure,” said Dhoni. “If you think too much about it, you can pressurise yourself.

It’s important to think about what is in your own control -- preparing well, bowling in specific areas, achieving goals. If you execute the plans you have set, more often than not you will emerge winner.”

On his opposite number Younis Khan playing through a finger injury, Dhoni had this to say, “The determination is good but as an individual, you have to see what the scene is like when it comes to injuries. You have to see whether you can perform and bear the pain for 100 overs because you don’t want to see the team playing with ten players.”