India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday said the schedule of the upcoming World Cup could prove to be a blessing in disguise for his injury-hit team. The scheduling of the six-week tournament was recently slammed as "ridiculous" by top England batsman Kevin Pietersen who said the gaps between games were too long.
The Indians have been sweating over the fitness of batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and paceman Praveen Kumar in the build-up to the showpiece event, which starts in Dhaka on February 19. India, co-hosts of the tournament along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are set to play six league matches in the space of 29 days and Dhoni said the gap would allow his players to recoup their energies.
"The schedule may work in our favour," Dhoni said at a promotional event in the Indian capital. "It will help our players relax and take care of niggles and injuries. "We will be looking to play our best eleven and ensure that we do not miss out on our main players due to injuries. We will try and utilise the gaps in the schedule in the best possible manner."
Dhoni also sounded upbeat about the quarter-final format of the tournament, which was first used in 1996 before being discarded. "It is a bit of a relief," said the wicketkeeper-batsman, who led India to their maiden World Twenty20 triumph in 2007.