Indian team can regain No.1 Test team slot again under Dhoni’s leadership, says BCCI chief N Srinivasan

Showing full confidence on MS Dhoni and his team, BCCI chief N Srinivasan says that Indian team can regain the No.1 Test team slot under Dhoni’s leadership and that Dhoni's boys will resurrect the fortunes of the team once again. In an interview to The Times Of India, Srinivasan said India were reaching a position where transition would slowly take place.

“Yes it is a fact that we lost in England and in Australia. We did not do badly at the Asia Cup. We did have some bad luck. All teams go through a period when performance does not match expectations. In our case I think we are reaching a position where transition will slowly take place. We should not forget that one year ago the same team was the toast of India,” said the BCCI chief, adding that Indian team can regain the No. 1 Test team slot under MS Dhoni's captainship again.

“It is always important that the team is well balanced. There have been occasions recently when the perceptions have been that our bowling attack is not quite there. However if you see the records from the recent past, it is our batting that has not delivered as much as expected. On our way to becoming No. 1 Test team in the world, we had relied a lot on our batting which performed exceedingly well. Therefore we cannot single out one aspect. I believe that as we go along, the balance will improve. As regards Rahul Dravid, I think everyone knows that it is not easy to fill his shoes. However, there are many youngsters who show promise,” said Srinivasan.

Meanwhile according to a report by The Asian Age, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) has been bustling with internationals over the past few weeks, thanks to the Board for Control of Cricket in India’s (BCCI) directive to its contracted players to undergo “mandatory” fitness tests ahead of a packed season, beginning with the limited-overs assignment against Sri Lanka later this month.

“Of the 30-odd players under the Board contract, those who had toured the Caribbean with the ‘A’ team recently were apparently exempted from the special tests. Meanwhile, the likes of Yuvraj Singh, S. Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron — all recovering from injuries/illness too didn’t have to make themselves available for the pre-season tests though some of them were already at the Academy undergoing rehabilitation,” says the report adding that three players in the upper-crest Grade A in the contract list didn’t turn up.

“Harbhajan Singh has left for an Essex stint while the other two absentees — M.S. Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar — weren’t expected by even the NCA staff. With NCA chairman M.P. Pandove insisting that there is no time-frame for the tests, Tendulkar, who has skipped the Lanka ODI series, has opted to stay away from the fitness assessment tests as well. Age, seniority and the absence of immediate international fixtures shouldn’t be a hindrance for attending the assessment programme and Test ‘specialist’ VVS Laxman found time to visit the NCA.”