Indian cricket captain Singh Dhoni is adamant the mega-rich Twenty20 cricket leagues that have surfaced in his country have not been a distraction for him or his players.
Dhoni gave an assurance the international game was still the first priority after the Indians arrived in Christchurch for their first New Zealand tour in six years, starting with a Twenty20 international on Wednesday.
“I’m playing for my country so it’s not about money,” Dhoni said when asked if the huge cash incentives for playing Twenty20 cricket was threatening to overshadow one-day internationals and test cricket.
“With Indian cricket I know that if I’m playing for my country and doing well than I will get money that will be more than enough for me and my family so I don’t think it is a distraction.
“The money flows in but one thing for sure is that if you’re not playing good cricket then you won’t get the money.”
Indian Premier League side Chennai splashed out $US1.5 million ($A2.33 million) for Dhoni’s services when it launched last year, making him the top-paid player.
He was surpassed this year by Englishmen Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, who both fetched $US1.55 million at auction.
Such figures weren’t a distraction, Dhoni insisted.
“Playing cricket for your country is most important for us.
“Whatever fame or whatever status we have now is all because of that. It’s about going onto the field and giving a 100 per cent, day in-day out for India.”
While India boasts such proven test batsmen as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag, Dhoni said India’s rise to the top had come through a team effort and that had been a focal point for the last year.
They are coming off home test series wins over Australia and England and, most recently, a 4-1 one-day series defeat of Sri Lanka.
“I’m proud to say that this Indian team is not relying on any individual. Everybody is contributing and everyone has a definite role to play in the side and that’s what they are doing.
“If we fail to get a good start from the openers someone in the middle order stands up.
“If the batsmen don’t score too many runs then it’s the bowlers who stand up and take the opportunity to prove themselves and that’s why we are winning more games.”
Dhoni said while he hoped the retirement of world-class players such as Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman would be later rather than sooner, he believed India had a strong nucleus of emerging players who would serve India proudly.
“There are people who can fill the gaps who won’t really be a Sachin Tendulkar or a Rahul Dravid, but they accept they have been given a chance.
“Whoever comes in needs to be himself and play the kind of cricket he loves to play.”
Dhoni said New Zealand would have benefited from playing one of cricket’s world powers, Australia, in a limited overs series across the Tasman in recent weeks.
However, he believed India had the resources to justify their tag at favourites for a tour that comprises two Twenty20 matches, five one-day internationals and three Tests.
“We have more firepower now to exploit whatever conditions we strike, whether it is a seaming pitch or a batting paradise,” he said.
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Christchurch, Expensive Players, International Cricket, Mahindera Singh Dhoni, Twenty20
All International cricket players and cricket board should ban Indian Premier League (IPL). It is a shameful decision of not including the Pakistani players through shameful act of pressurizing the team management to not bid for the T20 specialists Pakistani players. The politics should be away from cricket as cricket is game for peace and love.
