Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday conceded that comeback-man Yuvraj Singh will be under some pressure during the upcoming ODI series against Australia but said the team would insulate him from any "undue" stress by keeping things "normal" in the dressing room, says a report in the DNA.
Dhoni said the 31-year-old, who beat a rare germ cell cancer last year, will perform well if he manages to keep his mind off pressure and expectations. "We are trying to keep it as normal as possible...if it becomes like a comeback scenario, I think there is a kind of pressure on the player. It doesn't matter if you are one of the biggest match-winners. It is very important to take that feeling away from the individual that he is making his comeback," Dhoni said ahead of the only Twenty20 match against Australian to be played here tomorrow.
"Because what's important is for the individual to be expressive on field, back himself, have belief in his talent, the kind of talent that he has got. Ultimately that will show on the field. We will try to keep it as normal as possible and try to take the undue pressure off him and hopefully that will work," he added.
According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Dhoni backed the the left-hander, who has been recalled after playing his last ODI in January. "Yuvraj, of course is a match winner and we all know that. He is a big player and has been proving himself whenever questions have been raised. The fact is that he is a big match player. He performs well in big matches. He does well in tough series. We are hoping that he will come back strong," he said.
Despite the BCCI advancing the start of the ODI matches by an hour, Dhoni said dew would be a key factor and a lot would depend on it, especially the use of spinners. "We will have to see exactly how much it turns, whether dew will be a factor because if dew becomes a factor then the spinners may not get the same amount of turn that they would have got at some other time of the year," Dhoni explained.
According to a report in Indian Express, though not the favourites, Australia will take a lot of inspiration from their record in the subcontinent. Though they lost a rain-affected three-match series 1-0 in 2010 after two games were washed out, they had won the previous two ODI series 4-2 and 4-2, which will serve as a reminder of the reputation they have to protect. Back then, Ponting gloated about his team's 'greatest strength' - their squad depth.
Bailey isn't able to brag about bench strength like his former captain. But he will at least take heart from the fact that his boys do not endure sleepless nights anymore over the prospect of playing in the subcontinent, at least in the shorter formats, thanks to the IPL. Rixon, who himself is the fielding coach of Chennai Super Kings, says it's an advantage to know, in depth, how the likes of Dhoni, Ashwin and Raina play. "But we have plenty of hard work to do. It's not just about knowing the players but also knowing how to combat those players," Rixon says.
What gives them further confidence is that five other players - Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Glen Maxwell - have been in India for the last fortnight playing in the Champions League T20.
"We have been fortunate to have five of them playing. We are in a reasonable position. In the end, it's the guys about who have not been playing a lot of cricket. We need to get them up and ready leading to the T20 and seven ODIs. Once that happens, we are ready for the contest," says Rixon.
