Dhoni looks to Australia tour for World T20 preparation

By foxsports
Published

MUMBAI, India (AP) India will use its tour of Australia in January to prepare for this year's World Twenty20 tournament at home, limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Tuesday.

''The conditions will be very different to where we'll play the T20 World Cup, but at the same time it is at least good to have three T20s together,'' Dhoni said before the team's departure for a tour comprising five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games.

''We have ample opportunity to try different people at different slots, different bowler combinations so we will be in a better position as to what our playing 11 will look like and what will be the best suited strategy for the team,'' said Dhoni, who led India to victory in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007.

India's Twenty20 team includes experienced players like allrounder Yuvraj Singh and pace bowler Ashish Nehra, whose consistent performances in domestic cricket have earned them comebacks after long periods away.

The slow bowling attack includes premier offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom can also be handy with the bat.

However, Dhoni was pinning a lot of hope on pace bowler Mohammad Shami, who will play for the first time since last year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where he was India's most successful bowler with 17 wickets.

Shami was ruled out after the tournament by a knee injury.

''Shami has been a very good bowler for us. He has been equally effective for us with the new ball, in the middle overs and in the death. He has worked really hard during his rehabilitation. It will be interesting to see how he shapes up. I will try to manage him well because the World T20 is just round the corner,'' Dhoni said.

The one-dayers will be played from Jan. 12-23 in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, with the T20s following in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney from Jan. 26-31.

The World Twenty20 will be played in India from March 9 to April 3.