Men in Blue gear up for CT

Mumbai
Sept. 17: Team India took the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings in Sri Lanka though for just a day. Now ready for their South African sojourn to take part in the ICC Champions Trophy starting next Tuesday, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says he’s under no pressure to regain the number one spot.
“We are not under any pressure. We don’t think about rankings or ratings, personally as well as collectively as a team and just try to enjoy our game. We look to give our best and that’s what the game plan would be this time as well,” said Dhoni at a press conference in Mumbai ahead of the team’s departure for Johannesburg on Friday.
The team are elated over the return of opener Gautam Gambhir, who missed the Sri Lanka tri-series with a groin injury. “It is good for us that Gambhir has regained fitness because he will have to take the responsibility at the top of the order. We have seen that whenever we get a good start, we score big runs,” said the Indian captain.
Dhoni reckons that the team need to improve on their fielding standards in an important tournament like the Champions Trophy.
“Whenever there is a slip-up as far as fielding is concerned, we have seen that it proves costly. We have not fielded well consistently with quite a few missed run-out opportunities and dropped catches,” Dhoni said. “These could prove to be crucial in a big tournament like the Champions Trophy. We are putting loads of effort to improve our fielding standards,” he added.
The skipper admitted that Rahul Dravid had brought experience to the team. “It’s good to have a player like him batting at the number three especially in South Africa where conditions suit fast bowlers. We have quite a few stroke players lower down the order and it’s important to give them a platform where they can launch their innings,” Dhoni said.
Dhoni emphasised that since South African pitches were favourable to fast bowlers, there was room for improvement for Ishant Sharma and Co. “I feel we also need to do well in the bowling department, especially in the middle and slog overs. But when the bowlers are not up to the mark the batsmen need to take the responsibility,” he added.
“It is very difficult to say which teams are the favourites because if one batsman has a good day he can take the game away from you. So it would be wrong to take any team lightly. I would not like point out to any team and say that they would or would not do well,” he said.