Dhoni Insists Test Ranking Not Prioriy; Beating England Is

Even as the possibility of India losing the no.1 Test status is of concern, the Indian captain is insisting that that is not his main priority.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has often been labeled as captain cool and he intends to remain that way. However, for that to happen, he needs to keep his team focused on what is really important from the team’s perspective.

While the hoopla surrounds the possible permutation that India could lose the no.1 Test ranking if England manage to beat by them at least two Tests in the four Test match series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni claims he is not too worried about the status and the loss of rank. Instead the captain is choosing to focus solely on the series with the intention that if India can think straight and concentrate on winning the series, the ranking will automatically remain theirs.

Dhoni is only too aware of how the pressure of keeping the home fans happy could end up with some of his team mates feeling the pressure to maintain their rank and status and end up side tracking themselves from the job at hand. With that mind perhaps, Dhoni wants his team to focus on the game, enjoy and play it in the right spirit.

That though is easier said than done given that the Indian cricket team now holds the no.1 Test rank as well as the title of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 champions. In that light, the pressure will be foremost on the team to stay at their position while England will feel they have nothing to lose but to go all out. With the billion fans tuning into the appetizing contest at hand, it will be a great deal more pressure than the Indian cricket team has witnessed during the recently concluded India West Indies series.

This will be the first real contest that the Indian cricket fans will be glued to since the feverish euphoria of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and given that India ended on a high note will only mean that expectations will be at an all time peak in this highly anticipated battle between the champions and the contenders.

Dhoni is only too aware that just like success attracts bees to honey, a defeat could send the brickbats just as easily, which is also why he wants the talk about the Test rankings to not get into the psyche in the Indian dressing room but rather for the team to take the situation at hand and tackle it the way they have over the last two years, knowing that the reward for presence of mind, for enjoying the game without the pressures that go with it will come as a by product.

While Dhoni will say the right things, to keep his team on their toes without necessarily having a negative effect will be easier said than done as India are expected to see quite an expat contingent follow their game at the venues across England, reminding the Indian team of where they stand and where the fans expect them to be. With England revved up for the contest as well eying the big prize, it comes as no surprise that Dhoni is keen to shove the perks off the table to keep the team focused on winning the series primarily.