Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian One-day and T20 captain and the most expensive player of the Indian PremierLeague, is a man who doesn't mind speaking his mind. He talks with conviction and frankness, dealing with each question with his customary placidity of mind and work.As we wait for the unknown in the IPL to come to light, Dhoni, in an exclusive interview, shares his views on this novel blend of entertainment and cricket. Excerpts:
What kind of changes will come into Tests and One-dayers as an effect of Twenty20 cricket?
It will depend on what form of cricket you are playing. There were Test matches to begin with, then came One-dayers. There are not too many changes in the basic approach, but yes, people started scoring at a much faster rate in Test matches as well. Three runs an over is considered the benchmark these days--if you score at over three an over, you have the upper hand, otherwise you're slightly on the back foot.
Now, with T20, I don't think there will be too many changes in the way we play (longer) cricket. Of course, in some One-day games, you do get huge scores of 300-plus getting chased, but overall I don't think there will too many changes because T20 is completely different from a Test match or a One-day game. The duration of the game is lesser, and most of the times you won't lose all 10 wickets, so you can really attack the bowling right from the start. But from a cricketing point of view, there won't be too many changes in the basic way we play the game.
But how different are the demands on the players, physically, in this very fast, concentrated form of the game?
Yes, T20 is a very fast-paced game, but at the same time you have to understand that 20 overs is a fair amount of time, and if you lose too many wickets early, then basically the match gests over within the first five-sixovers.
But yes, the demands are very different, you have to be active throughout, you can't afford to neglect anything because the game changes not every over, it changes every three or four balls. So it's very demanding and you have to be a very good athlete. It's a game that favours the allrounders. So it's good to have two good batsmen who can bowl and field a bit too, rather than two players who're just very good batsmen. In the same way as we used to have ODI specialists, we'll have T20 specialists who eventually will get a chance to play inOne-dayers also
There's so much cricket internationally, and now in IPL we have 59 matches in 45 days. With how much intensity will the players play, how seriously will they take so much cricket?
We'll have to wait and watch for that, but I believe it will be very competitive because it's the start of professional cricket in India. I think it will be very professional, and since cricketers are getting the money, they have a responsibility towards their franchises as well. I think it will be the way you play an international match, with the same level of intensity. But definitely we'll look to enjoy ourselves because it's a form of game that you have to enjoy--basically it's entertainment for the spectators. You see a lot of people complaining about not having the time to watch a One-day game, but now they can plan--they can return home from office, pick up their families and go the cricket, have dinner out. There will be a touch of Bollywood in it, and there will be good, aggressive cricket. It will be complete family entertainment.
The Bollywood stars, the dancing… could that take away the focus from the cricket?
I don't think so because it's a form of entertainment. But cricketers will do what's important for them. They have to play, that's what they have to focus on. There will be dancers, stars, actors for the entertainment, but all that is built around the cricket--the focus will be onthe cricket. But it does have an impact on the game in that it eases you out a bit, relaxes you a bit. Still, it's the cricket that's the main thing.
We know your views about how you deal with money and fame, but how much is money a factor for players generally? Especially players at the domestic level, who never had it so good?
Frankly, I haven't interacted much on this issue with the upcoming players at the domestic level, so I can only give you my views on this, and their views should be close. They know that it's not money that's more important, because if you continue to play good cricket, money flows in. They can't afford to neglect cricket, and they understand that. Whether they are playing international cricket or the IPL, they have to perform, and that's what flows the money in. I don't think any of the guys is stupid enough to think more about things that go on around cricket. I think they are smart enough to stick to cricket. If I'm not playing cricket, I'm worth nothing right now; I may have earned money and all, but ultimately it's about the cricket.
IPL and T20, though, do present a window of opportunity for players, especially at the domestic level, to make adecent living from the game?
Yes, it's good for the players--as I said, it's the start of professional cricket in India. More players will now take up cricket as a profession because they know that if they become good cricketers, they don't really have to work on other things; as professional cricketers, they can earn loads of money and later on, when they leave cricket, if they want, they can go into business with their earnings. It's important to have security about your livelihood--whatever you do, you want to have a secure future.
All these big businesses have spent so much on buying the IPL teams, but they're doing this only to make money, right? Some people say they are exploiting sport to make money.
Well, it's like the formula of what's happened in the English Premier League. It's one form of generating money through sport; I don't think it can be called exploitation, it's using sport in the right way to make money for themselves, for cricketers, for other people. It will create job opportunities as well.
