Domestic circuit not producing enough finished products Says Dhoni

Perth, Jan 11 (Cricketnmore): Indian limited-overs cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday said the domestic circuit was not producing enough finished product as it used to some time back.

Comparing the Indian situation to the Australian setup, Dhoni said that was where the difference lay between the two countries.

"What makes life easy for an international team is the kind of domestic cricket (they have)... if you see the Australian first-class cricket, it is very good, which means the players who come up from the ranks of domestic cricket or first-class cricket have already got good exposure of playing cricketers who have played international cricket or are playing international cricket at that point of time.

"I feel that way Australian cricket is blessed," Dhoni told media persons here on the eve of the first One Day International (ODI) between the visitors and Australia.

"As far as the newcomers are concerned, we will definitely feature them and see where they stand. Also, we have to slightly get ahead of time. If you see Indian cricket, more often than not, we are used to getting the complete product.

"Right from the late 1980s onwards, we have got cricketers who were ready to play international cricket. Once they made their debut they were there for like 10 to 15 years. I think the trend is changing slowly," he added.

The 2011 World Cup winner stressed the fact that the Indian team management was now keen on grooming players and did not have the luxury of picking a complete product who can come in and deliver from the very first match.

"Even if you see the batsmen nowadays, they have been part of the side for quite some time and we have had to groom them. I feel the same applies to the bowlers. We may not have the luxury of just picking up the complete product to come into international cricket and start delivering from the very first game," he said.

"It is important to identify talent and at the same time give them games quite quickly so that they get that exposure of international cricket. And we also get to see how they handle pressure and the areas where they need to improve."

Dhoni also said that the visitors were likely to go in with three pace bowlers in the first ODI here at the bouncy Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) track on Tuesday.

"Most likely it will be three-two (quickies-spinners)," he said.

"Because we don't really have a seaming allrounder so most likely it will be a three-two combination. That most likely means Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and a possible debut for Barinder Sran."

Australia, on the other hand, have already announced their playing XI, and it includes five quick bowlers. Dhoni said the hosts could do it because they have seaming all-rounders.

"It's not only about the pitch," Dhoni said.

"That is their strength. When they came to play the Test series in India, they actually went in with four proper fast bowlers in the first game. Their strength is fast bowling so no good reason why they will go in with two spinners. One part-time spinner is enough for them. Also not to forget, they have got seaming all-rounders. We don't really have... we are still looking for a seaming allrounder that can fit in that slot."

The limited-overs skipper also spoke about flexibility and adaptability in the batting order which is a key to success in such conditions.

"Yes, I admit a lot of batsmen find it very difficult to do it [move up and down the order] but at the end of the day if everyone becomes very rigid with their batting order it becomes very difficult for the team," Dhoni said.

"If you see the success of the Indian team, a lot of it is down to batsmen who could bat at different numbers. If you see history, we have had batsmen who open in first-class but bat at three for us. They used to bat four or five for their first-class team but they end up being openers for the international side. That flexibility has to be there... that adaptability has to be there."

Agency

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