Dhoni avoids questions on captaincy

MS Dhoni has decided to stay away from controversial questions surrounding his captaincy after the Test series debacle against England. A number of former greats of the game have asked for Dhoni to step down as Test captain and be replaced by Virat Kohli.

The Indian captain was clearly perturbed when he was again probed on the same issue by an English journalist. "Before the start of an important series, I don't want to comment on that. Because when it comes to Indian cricket, if it's not going the right way, questions pop up about captaincy, senior players, junior players, the kind of talent we have got, the bench strength we have got. Everything will pop up and if you keep answering, I think we will be short of time," replied the Indian captain.

Dhoni further stated that there was no indication from Sachin Tendulkar about his retirement. "No, nothing at all," he said. He added that India would have to quickly adapt from Tests to the shortest version of the game. "It's demanding to switch formats as Test cricket is totally different from T20 matches, but as international cricketers we are supposed to stand up to the demands of the game. Maybe one more practice session would have helped but this is the only one we have. So we have to make the most out of it."

Dhoni was also not concerned with the rankings and played down the fact that India could become the No.1 T20I side if they whitewashed the two series against England and Pakistan. "We are never bothered about the rankings. If we do well on the field the rankings take care of themselves. It's like I am repeating myself but that's what I have always said."

Dhoni also stated that Kevin Pietersen was a special player and thus the franchises are willing to take a risk with him. "KP is a special player. Franchisees are willing to take a gamble even if he's available for 7 or 8 games in a season. You have to be that special for franchisees to run after you even though you may not be available for the major part of the season," said the India and Chennai Super Kings captain.