India tour of England: MS Dhoni counts on SA, NZ experience

India captain MS Dhoni is banking on the experience his young side has gained playing in South Africa and New Zealand to help them cope with the challenges of the five Test series in England that starts in July. Of the 18-player squad, only Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir among the batsmen and Ishant Sharma among the bowlers have played Test cricket in England. “If you see our Test squad, most of the players have exposure playing in South Africa followed by New Zealand. I think with a few games behind them they know what the challenges will be,” Dhoni said at the team’s departure press conference in Mumbai on Saturday." The good thing is we are going early so we can take our time getting into the groove. Have a few practice games and then we can get into the series.” [caption id=“attachment_1582879” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India’s last tour of England in 2011 was a disaster for the visiting side, which lost all four Tests and was bedeviled by injuries. PTI[/caption] Dhoni pointed out that India had opportunities to win Tests in both South Africa and New Zealand and though they failed to close the door on their opponents, he believes being in those situations “gives us the confidence that we can definitely win games.” India’s last tour of England in 2011 was a disaster for the visiting side, which lost all four Tests and was bedeviled by injuries. India were eventually forced to make an emergency phone call to RP Singh, who was on holiday at the time, just because they needed a warm body to make up the numbers in the final Test. Dhoni said they have learned their lesson this time around, which is why the India squad is 18-strong, including six fast bowlers plus Stuart Binny as a seaming all-rounder. “The players who will be replacing the injured players will already be used to the conditions. It will help us if we need it and at the same we can get some good quality practice. The bench strength – they will know what the conditons are, where to bowl, what length to bowl. At the same time the batsmen will get to play against the fast bowlers a bit more. “Once the series starts, the main bowlers who have bowled a lot during matches tend to take time out [in the nets] and the other lot of bowlers will bowl at batsmen. It is very important to have good practice situations because that reflects in the game. It looks like a big squad but that is what is needed.” For coach Duncan Fletcher, the youthfulness of the side could also be an advantage. “You can go over there [and ] there is no real baggage with the team.They have played some good cricket, as MS mentioned in South Africa and New Zealand. And hopefully they have learned from those Tests. I think it is important that if we suddenly do manage to win one, it will give them the confidence to win the series. “Potentially, it is a good side. “ England under the leadership of Alastair Cook are also a side in transition, having shed Kevin Pietersen and lost Jonathon Trott and Graeme Swann to depression and retirement respectively. The team therefore has new faces up and down the order. I think they [England] have lost some crucial players," Fletcher said. Pietersen has been a huge blow to them. And looking at them, they are in a rebuilding phase as well, so that’s going to make the series quite interesting. “I do believe though that they have got some quality batters who have got a lot of experience at Test level. [Alastair] Cook and [Ian] Bell have scored some big runs up the order. The focus will be to get them out as cheaply as we can. The bowling side is fairly well-balanced. “They have got [James] Anderson and [Stuart] Broad who have been bowling well and picking up wickets. We will focus on going there and producing as good cricket as we can. We have done that in India and we will look forward to adapt to the conditions as quickly as possible and will look to put them under pressure.”