Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived in South Africa two years ago to play the World Twenty20. Back then he was a rookie skipper. There was no pressure of expectation on him or his young team as they went from strength to strength.

This time Dhoni’s side is one of the favourites in the tournament and are ranked No.1 in the world in the ODI game. “The expectations are higher this time. People believe we can do well,” Dhoni said, putting the tournament in perspective.

On the eve of their opener against Pakistan, the Indian camp will have to figure out which players will fill up the part-time bowlers’ role in the bowling department.

Without Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh to fill up the 10-over quota of the fifth bowler, the team is grappling to find their ideal starting XI.

“Yuvraj Singh is always an asset. We rely a lot on him, especially in the middle overs. Viru is also not here. We have always relied on part-timers. Out of the five part-timers we had, we lost three, including Rohit Sharma. It will be tough for us to fill in their space not only in batting but in bowling also,” Dhoni said.

The Indian skipper also rued the lack of a bowling all-rounder down the order. “With our team, playing with five bowlers is a luxury. The last time we played with five bowlers was in Australia. What we are lacking is a bowling all-rounder. A seam-up bowler who can bat and contribute a bit down the order. If there is someone like that, we can play with two spinners. In these conditions we can’t think of playing with six batsmen and five bowlers. If we play with that combination there will be pressure on you, especially, if you are chasing,” Dhoni said.

India have a bowling all-rounder in the team in the form of Abhishek Nayar who played the warm-up game against New Zealand. Nayar is the only option Dhoni has if he wants to fill the bowling all-rounder’s slot.

Dhoni also said that he was happy to have Virat Kohli, Yuvraj’s replacement, in the side.
“I am happy with Virat Kohli. He was the replacement batsman in Sri Lanka also. He did well in the Emerging Trophy in Australia. But it is not easy for these players to perform as they get only one or two games in between. Tomorrow’s game is an ideal scenario where a youngster gets a chance to shine.”