India must ignore Sachin and coach speculation – Dhoni

BANGALORE, (Reuters) – Speculation over the future of  master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and coach Gary Kirsten are more  distractions India will have to ignore if they are to lift the  World Cup on home soil, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said yesterday.

The Feb. 19-April 2 showpiece event represents, in all  probability, Indian batting maestro Tendulkar’s last World Cup,  and it has hogged a major share of the limelight in the build-up  to the event. Local media reports have also claimed that India’s highly  successful South African coach Kirsten will not renew his  contract at the end of the tournament for personal reasons.

“The feeling is the same (in the team). What is important  for the team is to concentrate more on the process and the  preparation rather than think about all the other things,” Dhoni  told reporters. “There are plenty of issues that always surround the Indian  cricket team. We are quite good at distracting ourselves from  all the issues.   “But the fact remains that it will be the last World Cup for  Sachin and most likely it will be the last tournament for Gary  Kirsten as India’s coach.”

Sachin Tendulkar

The wicket-keeper batsman rued the absence of paceman  Praveen Kumar due to injury and said India will miss the  “street-smart” cricketer.

“It is unfortunate that Praveen had to miss the World Cup.  He has featured consistently in the ODI format for us,” Dhoni  said.

“He has done very well for us in all formats. We will miss  him. He has been a street-smart cricketer for us.

“But you can’t really restrict injuries from happening to  the cricketers.”

BIG FAN

The Indian captain though was happy with the balance of his  squad.

“We have got some very experienced players in the side,” he  added.

“Most of the players have played over 5-7 years of  (international) cricket at least. That’s a very good sign. “At the same time you have got very talented youngsters who  can really change the course of the game.”

The World Cup, to be jointly hosted with Sri Lanka and  Bangladesh, will help revive the popularity of the 50-over  format, which has been hit by the success of the shorter and  more entertaining Twenty20 format, Dhoni said.

“I am a big fan of 50-over cricket. For test matches you  have to wait for five days and T20 cricket happens in just five  overs,” he said.

“It’s a mix of test cricket and the T20 format. I have  always loved ODI cricket. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like  test cricket or T20 format. “It (World Cup) is a big stage. Specially, because it’s  happening in India, you will have a big fan-following and  everyone is looking forward to the World Cup.”