London, July 22: England skipper Andrew Strauss and India skipper MS Dhoni are going about their business as usual, trying to keep at bay the hype surrounding the bilateral series that just got underway at Lord’s. Adding to the interest generated by India’s tour is the possibility of England, currently placed third in the ICC Test rankings, wresting the No. 1 spot from the visitors at the end of the four-match series.
Often called the man with the Midas touch, MS Dhoni has led India to the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket and won the ODI as well as the Twenty20 World Cups in 2011 and 2007 respectively. He has also led the Chennai Super Kings to victory twice in the IPL (2010, 2011) and once in the Champions League Twenty20 (2010).
Graeme Swann was recently quoted describing him as "possibly the most charismatic player India have ever had" in The National.
Exposed to varying opinions on his success, Dhoni was quoted as saying, "As long as we are winning, I don't mind hearing that the captain is lucky."
"I never thought I would play for India, or share the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar or the other legends of Indian cricket like Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman. If you told me that when I was 19 [years old] I would have told you that was a lie," he said.
"What we really emphasise is enjoying the game. Cricket is a sport which you play to enjoy and more often than not when you are part of the Indian cricket team you are not really able to do that because of the hype which surrounds cricket,” elaborated the wicketkeeper captain.
On the expectations surrounding the team’s performance he said, "Given the [number] of people that watch cricket and the amount of opinions that float around, more often than not when we turn up on the field we are expected to win each and every game, even though we know that is not really possible.”
"We don't focus too much on the result because at [the] international level most of the teams are very good, which means often you will be beaten irrespective of the potential you have as a team. You can still be outplayed.”
"Trying to keep it simple is very important, especially when you carry the expectations of 1.2 billion people," he said.
With the England–India series being considered at par with the Ashes series and the milestones surrounding the first Test at Lord’s creating a buzz, Andrew Strauss said his side's performance will not be inhibited by the hype.
About the coveted No. 1 position, the England captain said, "To be No. 1 is relative to what other sides are doing."
"Over the past two years, I don't think there is a side who have been better than us. We have won seven out of eight series, with the other drawn,” added the England skipper.
"But this is a new challenge to us. Our ultimate goal over the long term is not just to be the side on the rankings who are No. 1, but to be the side which everyone generally agrees is the best side in the world. That is still a long-term goal, and nothing changes whether we win or lose this series," Strauss was quoted as saying.
