The Great Game Called Cricket...

MUMBAI: It was supposed to be a routine pre-tour press conference. But a candid Mahendra Singh Dhoni made sure it wasn't. The Indian captain Day in Pics: January 1

revealed that the team was missing bowling and fielding coaches, resulting in an increased workload on head coach Gary Kirsten. On the eve of the team's departure for the tri-series in Bangladesh, Dhoni added that Kirsten had his hands full.

"To some extent, it does affect the team. You need a specialist coach to get the best out of the players. Gary looks after so many things. He has a lot on his plate," Dhoni said, adding, "That's the way it is. It's an administrative issue now."

The cricket board, in a sudden and surprising move, sacked bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh in October and the two positions are lying vacant since.

While BCCI roped in Australian Mike Young for a short stint as fielding coach, he is not available now. "Mike is not available for the Bangladesh tour. Fielding is one aspect of the game that is important in every format of the game," Dhoni said.

The need for the fielding coach has become more and more pronounced in view of the team's falling standards and appalling catching. Dhoni recalled, "We dropped quite a few catches in the last series and we will try to rectify that. Good fielding really helps, especially in the middle overs, with four good fielders inside the circle who can save singles," he said.

On his recent ban for two ODIs over slow over-rates, Dhoni said that his bowlers did struggle with the problem but improved as the Lanka series progressed. About death bowling, another problem area, Dhoni felt that the team was improving there too.

Meanwhile, there were enough hints at the press meet to suggest the Team India had also begun taking the first steps of preparations for 2011 World Cup. A core group of Dhoni, Kirsten and Sachin Tendulkar have started pondering little things which need attention. "There are small things were concentrating on. We have a pool of cricketers to pick from; we are focusing on having an injury-free team as much as possible, fielding and catching is an area where a lot of effort is being put in. The World Cup is going to be in India and naturally there is going to be a lot of expectation," Dhoni said.

Despite India's impressive run in 2009, there have been areas of concern which Dhoni and Kirsten want ironed out. Fielding, for instance, is a big worry. So is the lack of form of India's attack lately that has brought trouble for Dhoni. Beginning with the tri-series in Bangladesh, the skipper has set his sights on thorough improvement.

"On a given day, players take 50 to 100 catches as part of our training sessions but still sometimes things go wrong. To lessen the margin of error as much as possible is our aim," said Dhoni on the issue of overall improvement.

In fact, the tri-series in Bangladesh marks the beginning of another hectic year for Indian cricket and the skipper felt the more the team played the better.

"Our aim is to try and win every match, every series. Rotating players, trying new things, giving the youngsters opportunities can be a part of the preparation but the aim is to first win and then if there is an opportunity available, try new things," he said.