JOIN US When the selectors chose to bring back Yuvraj Singh for the limited overs series against England, it came as a huge surprise. This being the only series before the marquee Champions Trophy in England in June, the decision to recall the 35-year-old was quite baffling.
Skipper Virat Kohli, addressing the media on the eve of the first ODI at the MCA Stadium here, said the left-hander has been roped in to strengthen the middle order after Mahendra Singh Dhoni endured a lean 2015. “…We cannot leave so much burden on MS alone in the middle order. I am willing to take up responsibility up the order, but there needs to be one more guy with him down the order in case the top order doesn’t fire. If the top order doesn’t fire you are left with MS alone and he is guiding the youngsters more often than not.
“Which is fine if you have 15-20 games till a big tournament, but when you have only three games to prepare for a big tournament, I think you need to get all your resources in place. We had discussed (Ambati) Rayudu as well, but he has been injured for a long time and didn’t have game-time behind him.”
Kohli also lavished praise on Dhoni, saying he’s looking forward to learning more lessons from him. “Many people have different styles of captaincy and I think he’e been so successful because he’e been able to find the right balance in being offensive with his plans as well as understanding the game when it is dominated by the opposition on how to slow things down.
“I think that’s his biggest strength. The thing I would love to execute from his captaincy is to strike a right balance between aggression, plans and understanding when the game is going away from the opposition.”
Kohli also hoped Dhoni would play with more freedom now after having stepped aside as limited overs captain.
“Taking responsibility, sometimes it can restrict you... But I’m sure with burden of not being there anymore, I’m sure he’ll be able to express himself as a batsman.”