Dhoni backs Ravindra Jadeja

What changes do you see since that inaugural World T20 victory as a young captain in 2007? “Well, I see a lot more media out here then what it was back then,” Dhoni replied with a smile.

“No one took the tournament seriously back then. It was one group going from England to South Africa while another group came from India. T20 was discussed in a joking way. They would mic-up the players (set with microphones). There was bowl-out then. We practiced a lot of bowl-outs and had fun. We won against Pakistan in a bowl out,” Dhoni fondly recollected.

Talking about the time that had elapsed, Dhoni said he could see a lot of changes happening.

“Now when I look at the mirror, I can see a lot of grey beard!,” he said.

“A lot has indeed changed as the game has become much more intense nowadays. The batsmen are trying to play all those innovative shots.”

Asked about the pressure of expectations and Dhoni said it’s the same whether it’s one person who is expecting or a billion people.

“It’s like having 100 kg put over you. That’s good enough to weigh you down. After that even if you put a mountain, it will not make a difference,” Dhoni said as the media contingent had a good laugh.

Cricket is a game of numbers but the Indian captain really does not like every effort or performance to be judged statistically.

“Judging every performance with statistics is a difficult thing to do,” Dhoni said referring to Ravindra Jadeja’s performance in the ongoing World Cup.

While the Saurashtra all-rounder has picked up wickets, he has also been hit for runs.

“Look everybody gets hit. It depends on the kind of shots that the batsman is playing. If it’s a rash shot that goes for boundary, then the bowler is not doing a bad job. But if you have to judge, whether it is a bad delivery or a good shot. That’s what I try to analyse standing behind the stumps,” Dhoni explained.

ICC T20: INDIA Is Ready For Gayle Challenge

After a thumping win over Pakistan, Indian spinners will now have to brace up for the ever-dangerous Chris Gayle when the team squares off against defending champion West Indies in its second match of the ICC World Twenty20 Championships here tomorrow.

 A victory against Pakistan was just the kind of shot in the arm that was required before facing a team that has world's most devastating T20 batsman in Gayle. While a rampaging Gayle can take away the game at any point of time with his blazing bat, the Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja will definitely pose a few problems for the 'Jamaican Marauder'. 

Gayle has minimum footwork as he believes in stand and hit technique. With Ashwin successfully employing a round the wicket technique to bottle up batsman and Mishra inviting him to come out by flighting his deliveries, it will be a challenge for Gayle to devise a counter strategy. While spinners will hold the key, Dhoni would also expect that Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami don't bowl length balls to Gayle as it has a chance of consistently landing in the stands.

However, Indian bowlers will also have to deal with an attacking batsman like Dwayne Smith, who has the ability to hit over the in-field consistently during Powerplay overs. Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels are also capable enough to destroy any bowling attack on their day.Let wait and see.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Varun Aaron. 

West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith

"ROCKSTAR" ROCKS

Think of Ravindra Jadeja with the ball. What is the image that comes to mind. Come back to the present. Those images have been replaced with more comforting ones. Jadeja's predictability, and his occasional unpredictability, have become his strengths.

Now think of Jadeja with the bat. That image has not changed much. It is still one of him being sorted out easily with short balls. Or attempting something needless and getting out - like his dismissal in the second innings of the Durban Test against South Africa. An appearance of not seeming to have the wits to play the situation. Jadeja the bowler has earned respect, but Jadeja the batsman still has to. Those first-class triple centuries, rather than worthy medals, are still crosses to bear. He has seldom given the impression they are ever going to translate into anything substantial at the international level.

His unbeaten 66 that tied the Auckland ODI could potentially start to change that impression. More importantly, it could tell Jadeja that he could actually translate some of that first-class promise into performance, instead of simply being a useful bowler who bats.

Jadeja confident of success in ODI's with AUS

Yuvraj Singh was back among the wickets and R Ashwin came back well in the first One-Day International after being hammered in the one-off Twenty20 International, but the one consistent performer amongst Indian spinners in the two games against Australia was Ravindra Jadeja.

As far as Jadeja was concerned, the secret to his miserly returns was the same it has always been – bowl wicket-to-wicket and don’t give the batsmen any room. “The wicket was slow and there wasn’t much turn; I was trying to bowl in good areas, trying not to bowl outside the off stump and keep it at the stumps,” he said. “If you bowl outside the stumps, you are likely to be hit because there is also the rule of having five players inside the circle. 

The immediate past hasn’t been too good for Jadeja though. In the last tournament he played in – the Champions League Twenty20 2013 – he was extremely profligate with the ball, conceding runs at 10.61 per over and picking up only three wickets. So poor was Jadeja that MS Dhoni, who has backed him all the way over the years, didn’t usually let Jadeja complete his quota of overs. In fact, it was a poor tournament for Jadeja on the whole as he faced only 12 balls in five games and contributed just five runs – importantly, he was dismissed on each occasion.

Even though he hasn’t done much with the bat yet – 11 off 18 balls in the ODI after not getting a chance in the T20I – he sounded confident again. That’s a good start in what should be a tough series.

NO.1 in ODI RANKING

Ravindra Jadeja now shares the No. 1 position on the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers, alongside West Indies' offspinner Sunil Narine, by leaping four places after his performances in India's 5-0 whitewash on the Zimbabwe tour that concluded on Sunday.


This is the first time Jadeja is heading the bowlers' chart.


The feat makes Jadeja the first Indian to become the top ODI bowler since Anil Kumble in December 1996. Overall, the left-arm spinner is the fourth Indian bowler after Kapil Dev (March 1989), Maninder Singh (December 1987-November 1988) and Kumble to claim the number-one spot.


Things that helped Ravindra Jadeja evolve as MS Dhoni’s main man are his all-round cricket skills and confidence. The India skipper admitted that to selectors.


Jadeja's career-best rating of 733 has him tied for the pinnacle spot with West Indies spinner Sunil Narine.


Incidentally, Jadeja is also the second in the all-rounders list of the ICC ODI rankings with 377 rating points, just behind Bangladesh's Shakib Al-Hasan who has a rating of 387.

Meanwhile, India's 5-0 series win over Zimbabwe has helped it strengthen its position as the number-one ranked team on the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings Table.

Ravindra jadeja with ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY and his GOLDEN BALL