India off,with excess baggage

It was a kind of sweaty and sultry end-of-May Mumbai morning,one that brings with it a longing for the monsoons.

It was a kind of sweaty and sultry end-of-May Mumbai morning,one that brings with it a longing for the monsoons. On Friday though,it wasnt just the long-suffering locals getting nostalgic about rainy days; Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Indias World T20 squad were in town,and as they boarded their luxury coach for the short road trip to the airport from the team hotel,more than a few minds would have wandered back to two years ago. Then,they were on the other side of the divider,in an open-top double-decker bus,as drenched fans lined the airports approach roads to catch a sight of Dhoni & Co holding the silverware.

The Indian team left for the second edition of the World Twenty20 Championships,loaded with the excess baggage called expectations,and drained out by the endless airport-hotel-stadium routine from the Indian Premier League.

Dhoni,who has navigated Indias two-year long journey from outright underdogs to overwhelming favourites in the games shortest version,tackled the media in his now-famous Captain Cool garb. A lot has changed since the phenomenal start to Dhonis captaincy,but some things remain the same. His hair is now shorter,and his answers longer; but the unfazed look of a man in control has been a constant in Indian cricket.

There were several attempts to press the panic button,but Dhoni dismissed them as false alarms. Be it questions regarding the fatigue factor,ambiguity over the fitness of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan,or the absence of a second wicket-keeper in the squad,Dhoni was never at loss of words.

When you play so many matches you do get tired,after all its the human body. But fatigue is a part of Indian cricket. And Indian cricketers understand what needs to be done. They know what to do if they want to sustain themselves at this level, he said.

The IPL may have been tiring,but it had its advantages,he said. Several part-time bowlers have been working hard at the nets,he pointed out,and that had given him more options and strengthened the bench.

Zaheers bowling arm wasnt giving him sleepless nights,pointing instead to purple cap bowler RP Singh and the creditable show put up Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan.

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The only time he seemed at a loss of words was when the question about a back-up wicketkeeper came up. Hope I dont get injured, he said with a smile.

Towards the end,just as the optimism was getting overbearing,Dhoni threw in the mandatory word of caution. He spoke about the uncertainty of a format that is too short to make comebacks,one where every move on the field,and every innovative shot hit,was a gamble of shorts. He also reminded those present that his teams opening game was against Bangladesh the team that knocked India out in the last one-day World Cup.

The favourites tag

The form book suggests that Dhonis men have the potential to repeat their T20 triumph. Virtually every cricketer who boarded the flight to London has enjoyed memorable T20 moments in South Africa. But it remains to be seen if they have the hunger in them after the IPL feast.

All things considered,things were different in 2007. Dhoni was a new skipper desperate to make a mark. There were several rookies in the team travelling in the same boat,with perform-or-perish thoughts in their mind. Even seniors like Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan were making a comeback after getting dropped from the national team.

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The Class of 2009 is more secure about their positions in the team,but they carry the tag of favourites and thats never easy. Even as they laughed and joked about in the air-conditioned team coach,it was hard to imagine they werent feeling the heat. What remains to be seen is if they have it in them to fashion another rainy day reception.