The Master Blaster himself is reportedly unhappy with all the hype and hoopla around his 199th Test match at the Eden Gardens, says a report in Deccan Chronicle, adding that on Tuesday, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that Team India was trying to focus on the cricket despite the frenzy around Sachin Tendulkar's final Test match in Kolkata. India lock horns with the West Indies in the first of the two-Test series from Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dhoni said: "We are trying to keep distractions to minimum and focus on cricket despite all the hype around Sachin's retirement. This was expected. We were mentally prepared. The team will just focus on the game when the match starts."
On the master blaster's retirement, Dhoni said Tendulkar will be missed both in the dressing room and on the field. "He has been one who constantly kept a tab on youngsters and always gave suggestions. We will miss all this," said Dhoni.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday expressed concern over the lack of all-rounders in the side, saying the team needed to find someone like Ravindra Jadeja, says a report in the DNA.
"Now that we don't have Jadeja, we are thinking whether we should have a fifth bowler or play a batsman," Dhoni said on the eve of the first Test match against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens here. We will have to find someone for Jadeja is someone who can do the job. We need to have plans for now. We don't have many who can do the job," Dhoni said.
Jadeja has been rested for the two-Test series owing to a shoulder strain. Dhoni said the lack of all-rounders was an area of concern.
"It has been a bit of concern. We need a seam bowler or spinner who can bat," he said.
Meanwhile a report in The Times Of India says that if India's 'Captain Cool' was a worried man on the eve of India's first Test against the West Indies, he certainly didn't show it during his interaction with the media at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
“He answered all queries with patience, met a few with a dead bat and dodged the rest, flashing his trademark smile. His biggest worry is the pitch. There were creases on his wide forehead on Monday when he first looked at the brown and bald 22-yard surface that was soaking in the sun. With the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) reluctant to deliver a pitch of the team's choice, Dhoni had to wait till Wednesday morning before naming his playing XI,” says the report.
"We will have a look at the pitch again before the match. They have watered it. We can only assess it after it dries out," Dhoni said.