Hyderabad: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that Indian teams in Champions League Twenty20 have very good chance of winning the tournament but they have to be at their best on a particular day.
Dhoni, however, believes that all the teams participating in the Champions League have a fair amount of chance.
“As the teams who played in IPL, we know the conditions well. What we have to rely on is whether there is dew or no dew. All those things come into the scene. Indian sides have very good chance but you have to be at your best on a particular day. Even one individual can take the game away,” Dhoni told reporters here Monday.
The Indian captain, who returned from England Monday, described CSK as a very good side. On the chances of his team, he believes it depends on the play and attack.
He said Dwayne Bravo’s return has strengthened the team.
“We missed Bravo during the IPL. He was injured and that really affected combination and stability of the side. It will be good to have him back.”
Dhoni pointed out that most of their played players international cricket and scored runs in the recent series. “The side is looking good but we will have to see how quickly we adopt to the conditions,” he said.
CSK is clashing with Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) in the opening match of Champions League Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here.
The CSK skipper admitted that it was a challenge to assemble and get ready for the tournament as they hardly had any time after the series against England.
“It has its own challenges. Two months of IPL helped us. It is like a refresher course where you get together and start getting your act together,” he said.
While describing KKR as a very good team, he said they had their own strengths. “In fact, all teams getting into Champions League are excellent sides. They have their own weaknesses and they have their own strengths. We have to focus on that.”
Dhoni agreed that the Champions League lag behind compared to the Indian Premier League (IPL) in terms of popularity
“The IPL format is different. You have two month of cricket and every team will have major Indian players and also some international players. There will be overall greater connect. While Champions League idea is brilliant, it becomes difficult to get the Indian crowd indulge at that level as we see when two Indian teams play.”
