I see Dhoni playing till 2019 World Cup: VVS Laxman

Former India batsman VVS Laxman, during an interaction with Star Sports, said that he feels that the T20 squad and the ODI squads announced recently are an indication that selectors are looking at a specific short-term goal of winning the World T20 in India and forming the core of the 2019 World Cup. He also said that MS Dhoni will play the 2019 World Cup.

“I definitely see Dhoni playing till 2019 World Cup as he is super-fit and the reason is that I have never seen him miss a match due to an injury. May be, he has had those odd finger injuries here and there. I have no doubt he will be available till 2019 World Cup. I am happy that he has played seven matches in Vijay Hazare Trophy as he must have needed some preparation under his belt.”

Laxman thinks that the Indian team has got a good chance to beat Australia at their own backyard. He said, “India has got an excellent chance. They (Australia) look a very unsettled side after retirement of Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Starc is injured. If India play to their potential, they will beat Australia.”

Suresh Raina’s technique against the short-pitched bowling has been a subject of discussion since the start of his career. Laxman also feels that Raina “needs a lot of clarity” while facing bouncers. He believes that no batsman is perfect and it is not Raina alone, who has a technical problem.

“We have seen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have problems for the balls outside the off-stump and Pujara has problems with ball that comes in. Everyone has own issues as no batsman is perfect. So, Raina needs to have lot of clarity while facing the short ball.”

“But having said that, I believe that Raina is an impact player and a match winner in the shorter format. He is livewire in the field, can play big shots and bowl useful overs. He still has a lot to offer in ODI and T20,” Laxman said.

The squad for the ODI and T20I series against Australia was announced some days back and Raina’s name did not appear Indian ODI team. Laxman is assured that this setback will make Raina work harder. “I think every batsman has an area of concern and Suresh Raina has been struggling with short-pitched delivery for a long time. But I think, it is more about what his game plan against short ball will be and hopefully he sticks to it,” Laxman told PTI during an exclusive interaction on Wednesday.

He also felt that that the left-hander always thinks about the short-ball and is thus, not prepared for the fuller delivery. This thought runs in his mind all the time.

“If you see the way, the position (initial trigger movement) he was getting in, definitely, he is thinking about the short ball. Only in the Chennai ODI against South Africa, he played thinking of fuller delivery. He tried playing down the ground, hit those cover drives. His thought process was very clear and once he does that, no one can stop him,” explained Laxman.

He also said that Raina’s exclusion means that Manish Pandey and Gurkeerat Singh Mann will get a chance to play in his position. “Both have had success in domestic cricket. Gurkeerat was very impressive during that ‘A tri-series final’ against Australia in Chennai. He also deserves a chance.”

Laxman, who had a special liking for Australia, also explained that how he prepared before an Australia tour. “Before going there for the 1999 tour (he scored 167 at SCG), I saw the Pakistan series on TV and felt the bounce was steep. So I decided to practice on concrete wickets with plastic balls.”

“Now in Australia, you cannot offer a straight full face of the bat, it has to come down with an angle. If the bat comes down straight, it will fly towards slip or gully. Also the general mistake that a young batsman tends to make is that he will get out to the back of the length delivery. But then, it is the fuller delivery which gets the batsman out,” Laxman said.

He also commented on the inclusion of veteran Ashish Nehra and said that Nehra is a bowler who can do the tough job for the team. “It is very difficult to bowl in the first few overs of T20s and the two of the last four overs. Ashish has done that job often for India. He is still an asset.”

Also, Laxman continued that it is always handy to have a left-arm pacer like Barinder Sran in the ODI team, as the pace attack comprising Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav would be a one-dimensional attack.

“Left armers always have an impact because of the angle that they are able to create. With Umesh, Ishant and Shami, you have similar bowlers. If this boy can bowl left-arm over and create an angle, it will be great for India. I haven’t watched him in action but what Yuvi and Bhajji told me, they have got high hopes from him. They feel he has the potential to become like Zaheer Khan. Experience, exposure will help him to become a better bowler.”