Caribbean beauty will help Indian boys to unwind

It is the end of another IPL and congratulations to Chennai Super Kings for winning the third edition of this tournament. I strongly believe Mahendra Singh Dhoni will definitely like to carry the winners luck from the IPL into the T20 World Cup. India’s last outing at the event was not up to the mark and I am sure Dhoni and his boys will definitely want to make amends and come out with flying colours this time, keeping in mind that they were the winners of the inaugural T20 World Cup.

The IPL would have given them a huge preparation for the T20 World Cup and the fact that India is not playing any warm-up matches before its first game against Afghanistan will not matter. The point of concern would rather be the back-to-back matches as it becomes very taxing for the body. Luckily, India is playing day time in West Indies, which will help the boys to recover earlier than while playing the night games. The body adapts better to the rule of the clock during day time and it is really tough to play a day-night game, recover and come back to play another the very next day.

The Caribbean is a beautiful place with lovely beaches, relaxed atmosphere and titillating music, which will help the Indian boys to unwind and get ready for the important game against South Africa. West Indies is one of the best places to play cricket. The cricket knowledgeable public loves the sport. Cricket is followed in the West Indies as much as it is done in India and it will be a fantastic two and a half weeks of cricket carnival.

Cricket will survive the latest setback

All the teams have reached West Indies and are gearing up, acclimatising themselves for the tournament proper. The facilities in West Indies have undergone a lot of change during the 2007 World Cup. The stadiums are prettier than what they were with good cricketing facilities but I have a strong feeling the pitches will be on the slower side.

India will be initially based in St Lucia, which has the prettiest beach and the best sea water in the world. The team will be far away from the hectic travel of the IPL, the hustle-bustle of the crazy fans, cooling its heels in the beautiful island. It’s an ideal situation to relax and freshen oneself and put behind the fatigue of the 45 days of IPL.

India has had a young T-20 team from day one and it hasn’t changed in the third year of the tournament as well. The team boasts of a very strong batting line-up with the likes of Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina, Rohit and Dhoni. India’s success will depend on how much these match-winners fire. They are dangerous players and each one is good enough to take away the game from the opponent on their own.

More on T20 World Cup

But they will have to be ready to counter the short stuff which the opposition used effectively in the last T20 World Cup and will do again this year. I will be really watching out for Yusuf Pathan. He is a guy who can turn a match on his own but needs to be more consistent. He has to play differently as no quality fast bowler will let him hit every ball and he will not see much of the spinners when he bats.

India’s fast bowling, at least on paper, looks depleted. The captain will have to rely a lot on Zaheer and Ashish. They will have to push for some pace on the slow West Indian pitches. India has very good spinners in their ranks which will come in handy in West Indian conditions. Spinners like Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha have been successful in this year’s IPL and have missed the bus narrowly but even then India has enough firepower to bowl in West Indian conditions. It will be interesting to see whether Dhoni will play with the bowling like he did with the Chennai Super Kings bowlers.