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After India were comprehensively beaten by England in the third match of the Carlton Mid Tri-Series in Brisbane on Tuesday, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that the players will need to remain fresh and that staying away from home for a period of four-and-a-half months can take a toll mentally. The Indian team arrived in Australia late November and have already played a gruelling four-match Test series against Australia.
They are currently involved a tri-nation tournament with Australia and England which is scheduled to end on February 1 and then they will begin their World Cup defence on February 15 versus Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval.
"Four-and-a-half months away from everything, it is tough. But we knew this was going to happen,” Dhoni said.
We need to have a lot more team activities in this break: Dhoni
India’s next game in the series is versus Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Monday, and the 33-year-old said that the team will look to indulge in some fun activities in the coming days and suggested an interesting option to tackle the fatigue factor.
"We will have a bit more of team activities, we will have a bit more fun, maybe have paintball with the media people one day, and that will be fun,” he said.
"That's the kind of thing you have to do on a long tour.”
Critical to remain fresh: Dhoni
On a serious note, the Indian skipper noted that the players will look to remain fresh in the coming days and detaching themselves from the game for a few days will help them a great deal in the lead up to what is going to be crucial two months Down Under.
"It's important from now on to be fresh, to assess carefully as to whether we need to spend more time on the field or we need to switch off from cricket.
"Because we have another couple of months that we have to spend here," he said.
When questioned about the form of the Indian batsmen at the moment, Dhoni cited the example of Australian great Adam Gilchrist, saying that the former wicket-keeper batsman kept a simple mindset when he wasn't in great touch.
"When you are not scoring at times it is best to just go out and express yourself. That's something that Adam Gilchrist used to do very well.
"When he was out of form he used to play his shots right from the very first ball - often that helps," Dhoni concluded.
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