Mahendra Singh Dhoni Will Lead India In The World Cup, Graeme Smith Says

Former South African captain, Graeme Smith thinks that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the key for India to defend their title at the upcoming World Cup. Graeme Smith discussed the chances of the Indian team in the World Cup saying that he believes that Dhoni will lead by an example by performing well in the tournament.

Just recently, Dhoni resigned from the Test captaincy after his team did not do too well under him but Smith believes that Dhoni and Virat Kohli have been outstanding players and a great players of spin. Talking about India’s first game against Pakistan, Smith said that the team will be under a lot of pressure but Indian players will be able to handle it well. He claimed that Indian batsmen have a habit of handling pressure and said that they also know how to chase well because they are mentally prepared to go for it.

According to Graeme Smith and fellow respected cricket thinker, Rahul Dravid, the format of the World Cup tournament that runs in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 until March 29, is too long and predictable for the top eight teams. In the World Cup, 14 teams are pooled into two groups to play against each other. The top four sides in each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

"It's almost easy barring the odd upset or someone really having a bad tournament; you can almost predict who the top eight will be today," former Indian captain Dravid said. "There comes a time in a tournament like this - and I sensed it a little bit during the last World Cup when I wasn't playing but just watching - that everyone starts to wait for the quarterfinals.” The former South African captain agreed with Dravid on the matter and said that the tournament is also too long. Dravid believes that the old "Super Six" format used at the 1999 and 2003 editions of the World Cup adds more suspense.

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