{"id":14862,"date":"2013-06-17T02:24:57","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T02:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=14862"},"modified":"2013-06-17T02:24:57","modified_gmt":"2013-06-17T02:24:57","slug":"captain-dhoni-asks-his-young-team-to-remain-focused-till-the-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=14862","title":{"rendered":"Captain Dhoni asks his young team to remain focused till the end"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has told his match-winning young team to remain focused as it approached the business end of the Champions Trophy, says a report in Deccan Chronicle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reigning World Cup champions have enjoyed a remarkable campaign in the eight-nation tournament so far, becoming the only team to enter the semifinals with an all-win record. But Dhoni knowns all the good work will mean nothing if his team slips up in Thursday’s second semifinal in Cardiff against a still unknown opponent from the wide-open group A.<\/p>\n

“There are, hopefully, still two more matches to go and we must play with the same intensity that we have shown so far,” the Indian captain said.<\/p>\n

According to a report in The Times Of India,<\/strong> it has been a formidable display by the tournament’s youngest team in which Dhoni is the oldest member of the side at 31 and reserve spinner Amit Mishra is the only other player aged 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cFormer Test batsman Sandeep Patil’s selection panel has been so ruthless in axing non-performers that the current squad has only three players — Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli — who played in the World Cup final two years ago,\u201d says the report.<\/p>\n

Dhoni says the induction of young blood has made his team the “top fielding side in world cricket,” a praise rarely associated with Indian sides in the past. The build-up to the tournament was overshadowed by a spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League that led to the arrest of three players, including Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.<\/p>\n

At least two IPL franchise owners were being investigated for betting and the powerful cricket board president Narayanswamy Srinivasan was forced to step aside over his son-in-law’s links to illegal bookmakers. Dhoni himself was facing a conflict of interest issue after it was revealed that he had a stake in a management company that represented several national players like Raina and Ravindra Jadeja.<\/p>\n

But the young side rallied around their unflappable captain to put on a winning performance that impressed former players and fans alike. “This is the team of the future,” India’s former World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev told AFP. “They are playing fearless cricket. Easily the best side in the tournament so far.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile a report in Hindustan Times<\/strong> says that if this Champions Trophy is any indication, India have already found the core of the team that will defend the World Cup in two years Down Under.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkipper MS Dhoni seems to have found a second wind as leader. No longer is it about playing it cool and letting the big names do what they do best. The new Dhoni is now a senior statesman. He protects his teammates, encourages them, guides them and has their undivided attention. He\u2019s the only player above 30 in this youthful set up, and he too is just 31,\u201d says the report, adding that the big problem in the series against Pakistan, and even earlier, was the patchy form of the openers. India just wasn\u2019t getting the start. In Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma they have found a pair that looks like it\u2019s here to stay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has told his match-winning young team to remain focused as it approached the business end of the Champions Trophy, says a report in Deccan Chronicle. The reigning World Cup champions have enjoyed a remarkable campaign in the eight-nation tournament so far, becoming the only team to enter the semifinals with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[8261,622,6675,1287,810,542],"class_list":["post-14862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-from-the-newspapers","tag-icc-champions-trophy","tag-mahendra-singh-dhoni","tag-sandip-patil","tag-shikhar-dhawan","tag-suresh-raina","tag-virat-kohli"],"yoast_head":"\nCaptain Dhoni asks his young team to remain focused till the end - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News & Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis & Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=14862\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Captain Dhoni asks his young team to remain focused till the end - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News & Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis & Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has told his match-winning young team to remain focused as it approached the business end of the Champions Trophy, says a report in Deccan Chronicle. 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