Kolkata : Mahendra Singh Dhoni is satisfied with India's "improvements" since the England tour. At a press conference, the Team India captain also said that there was still a long way to go.The following are excerpts:Whether he is eyeing a whitewash We will try our best. It's difficult to predict in cricket. We will have to see what kind of wicket we get in Mumbai. The West Indies are a good side. Their bowling line-up is quite good. It's not that they can't bat. As you have seen in the second innings here, their batsmen are talented. We are expecting a tough third Test. We have shown some improvement in this Test compared to the first Test. Hopefully, we will continue improving. We are not thinking about the results. We will try to do well.The 144 at the Eden Overall, a good innings. Initially, I tried to play the big shots. But it didn't pay off. Then I gave myself a bit more time and once I was set, we decided on the need to accelerate a bit. Bishoo was bowling a negative line from around the wicket with Samuels at the other end. We felt this is the time to capitalise and get as many runs as possible. We thought it would not be as easy to bat on in the fourth innings.His assessment of the bowlers Our bowling looks very balanced. The fast bowlers look very fresh which means they can bowl a lot of overs in a Test match. The spinners are also bowling the same way. Ojha has played in a couple of formats. Even in the Tests, he is in and out of the playing XI and Ashwin is new to the longer version. That means all of them are fairly fresh and raring to go with a bit more energy on the field. They back themselves, which is very important in Tests.
In this Test, especially in the second innings, there was not much turn, so they had to rely on flight and variations. I am quite happy with their performance. Umesh again is someone who can bowl really quick. But we will have to use him in the best possible manner so that we don't overuse him and he gets injured. We have a pool of fast bowlers who can bowl quick. But it's important to sustain at the top level.Whether Yuvraj will be under pressure to keep his place We don't comment on selections. Getting hit on the body, I don't think has anything to do with his performance here. Most of the big batsmen have got hit. At the end of the day, it's about scoring runs. Yes, he is going through a tough phase but it's important to show confidence in him.We all know he is talented. He has played really well against all the big bowlers especially in the ODI format, which means he has talent to do well in Tests as well. One more reason is that he has been in and out of the side. Hopefully he will recover and do well.Whether Varun Aaron will be making his Test debut in Mumbai.We have been thinking about it, but it's too early. We will see what needs to be done. We don't want to overuse the bowlers. We will think and do what's best for the side. Let's hope everything goes well. It's not about experimentation. We will see what's the best possible XI and decide accordingly.The victories after the England tour.The most important thing was to do well. England was a bad tour for us. There were several reasons why we did not do well there. It is always good to be on the winning side. It's the process that's more important than the results. Still it's a long way to go.If he was considering taking a break.Well I won't take rest for the next game, that's for sure. Let's see after that.Jeff Dujon saying he's an excellent package (in an interview to The Telegraph) It's a big compliment for me. As I say, I am more of a package than a specialist (laughs). I'm neither an extraordinary batsman nor a specialist keeper. It's all about doing the right things. It does not matter how you catch the ball, take the edges and do the stumpings. It's important to score at that point of time as it's really good for the side. I'm really happy for the compliments. It's a constant process. I hope to keep doing well. I hope to be a specialist one day.If Test cricket's popularity is on the wane It was very tough for the bowlers to bowl on this wicket. If we had not dismissed them cheaply in the first innings, then the match would not have ended this way. It was a very flat track. There was nothing really for the pacers or spinners especially after the second day's morning session. I don't think it really pushes the popularity of the game.The lack of spectators at the Eden You should look into that and take proper steps. We cannot take additional pressure of playing on the field and ensuring that there is a full house (laughs).
In this Test, especially in the second innings, there was not much turn, so they had to rely on flight and variations. I am quite happy with their performance. Umesh again is someone who can bowl really quick. But we will have to use him in the best possible manner so that we don't overuse him and he gets injured. We have a pool of fast bowlers who can bowl quick. But it's important to sustain at the top level.Whether Yuvraj will be under pressure to keep his place We don't comment on selections. Getting hit on the body, I don't think has anything to do with his performance here. Most of the big batsmen have got hit. At the end of the day, it's about scoring runs. Yes, he is going through a tough phase but it's important to show confidence in him.We all know he is talented. He has played really well against all the big bowlers especially in the ODI format, which means he has talent to do well in Tests as well. One more reason is that he has been in and out of the side. Hopefully he will recover and do well.Whether Varun Aaron will be making his Test debut in Mumbai.We have been thinking about it, but it's too early. We will see what needs to be done. We don't want to overuse the bowlers. We will think and do what's best for the side. Let's hope everything goes well. It's not about experimentation. We will see what's the best possible XI and decide accordingly.The victories after the England tour.The most important thing was to do well. England was a bad tour for us. There were several reasons why we did not do well there. It is always good to be on the winning side. It's the process that's more important than the results. Still it's a long way to go.If he was considering taking a break.Well I won't take rest for the next game, that's for sure. Let's see after that.Jeff Dujon saying he's an excellent package (in an interview to The Telegraph) It's a big compliment for me. As I say, I am more of a package than a specialist (laughs). I'm neither an extraordinary batsman nor a specialist keeper. It's all about doing the right things. It does not matter how you catch the ball, take the edges and do the stumpings. It's important to score at that point of time as it's really good for the side. I'm really happy for the compliments. It's a constant process. I hope to keep doing well. I hope to be a specialist one day.If Test cricket's popularity is on the wane It was very tough for the bowlers to bowl on this wicket. If we had not dismissed them cheaply in the first innings, then the match would not have ended this way. It was a very flat track. There was nothing really for the pacers or spinners especially after the second day's morning session. I don't think it really pushes the popularity of the game.The lack of spectators at the Eden You should look into that and take proper steps. We cannot take additional pressure of playing on the field and ensuring that there is a full house (laughs).
