PERTH: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Thursday made a surprise revelation that he may retire from Test cricket if he is to play in the 2015 cricket World Cup.
"If I have to see through the 2015 (World Cup), I would have to retire from one of the formats," Dhoni told mediapersons here.
Dhoni, who has played in 66 Tests so far and won 17 of the 36 matches in which he has skippered, almost casually mentioned it which took everyone by surprise at the press conference.
Thursday's disclosure by Dhoni seems to convey what he feels about his future in the game if read together with what he had said earlier that he will decide by 2013 whether to play in 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The 30-year-old Dhoni is more and more being acknowledged as a really good captain in one-day cricket and a very effective batsman in the limited-overs format.
In the Tests, on the other hand, his team seems to have lost the knack of winning abroad in testing conditions and his batting, against lifting and seaming deliveries, look completely out of sorts.
Dhoni had earlier been quoted in the media that he will decide by 2013 if he will play in 2015 World Cup.
"What I really meant is by 2013 I would have to see where I stand as to my body. Whether I will be able to survive till the 2015 World Cup," he had said in the media.
"Of course form is a big factor but also what I need to say is that all of a sudden in 2014 if I feel I can't survive the 2015 World Cup and there comes a new wicketkeeper who has played just 30 ODIs (one day internationals), it's not fair.
"At 2013 end, I have to decide if fit enough to proceed in one of the format. It's not for personal but for country and for the individual who is taking my position. He should have played 70-80 ODIs before he goes in World Cup. That's my personal thinking," he had said.
Dhoni hits back at critics questioning his captaincy
The Indian skipper hit back at former cricketers criticising his captaincy in the ongoing Test series against Australia, saying that he was not bothered by them as he would get brickbats even after taking right decisions.
Dhoni admitted that he was not right all the time but the critics would comment otherwise even if he had taken a right decision.
"You have to take it in stride. It looks easier from the outside, it's easier to comment on decisions. More often than not, you see the result and then comment," he told reporters at the pre-match press conference ahead of the third Test against Australia starting here tomorrow.
"At times I get it wrong and at times I don't get it wrong but it's people who feel I've got it wrong," said Dhoni rather coyly to criticism about his captaincy from former cricketers.
Dhoni also defended Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma who were involved in unsavoury incidents with the fans and laid the blame on the aggressive behaviour of fans.
"When I have a chat with few players, you realize that somebody starts something and it's the retaliator who gets stuck and punished. Everybody (the fans) is fantastic in the morning but after tea, after a couple of barrels of beer down, it becomes difficult. If you see Aussie fans they are quite verbal and aggressive," said Dhoni.
"It's something you need to learn, how you interact with fans, how to convert them into someone who wants you to perform as individual, and many may not want the opposition team to do well," he said.
"We need to get smart, if we can avoid it is in the best interest. You have to be smart at what people are trying to do and how you are reacting to a particular situation. May be they are trying to push to perform well. These are few things you learn apart from playing in the field."
Dhoni was also in no mood to spare former Australian opener Michael Slater who commented on the lack of hurt visible among the Indians for the two losses in the series.
"It's not really true. It depends on what he (Slater) means by it. If you lost two matches and sit on the ground and weep for four hours, and if it means it is hurting then definitely we are grown up boys and we can't do that," Dhoni said in a sarcastic tone.
The Indian team also got criticism from the likes of former captain Sunil Gavaskar for taking off from practice sessions more than necessary, but Dhoni said that was not the case.
"We are a side which practices a lot. Indeed, we are trying to reduce the hours we spend in practice. We usually spend close to four hours every day in sessions. We try to rest as much as possible and recreational activity help us do it," he said.
Dhoni said his side could make a comeback in the series at the WACA and that the Australian batting, especially the top order, has looked vulnerable.
"We will have to target top order again. If you do so, you are able to bowl to middle order with the new ball. As we have seen in Australia, it does not swing after the first 20 overs, so it's important you get early breakthroughs," he said.
"Every side has weakness. It depends on how quickly you adapt. Every batsman has weakness. If you keep good balls out and play out bad deliveries, it really helps simplify cricket.
You need to know the areas where to bowl and be consistent.
"There is uncertainty in every batting line up. It depends on how consistently you are bowling and how you are forcing the batsmen to make mistakes. Patience is important.
In Australia, after 20-25 overs, the batting becomes easy the ball comes well on the bat and margin of error becomes less," said Dhoni.
Talking about the poor form of some of the batting heavyweights in the team, Dhoni said, "It's not the first time that some of our batsmen and bowlers are going through such a phase in their career.
"It has happened to almost all individuals, especially if it is a long career. So they know how to get out of it, at the same time they help youngsters get out of it," he said.
Dhoni also refused to buy the line that youngsters in the team were not valuing Test cricket to the extent they should.
"If you ask the youngsters, all of them want to play Test cricket. They just not only want to participate, they want to perform. That's why some of these youngsters take a lot of pressure when they don white uniforms.
"What you need to do is to relax and play the kind of cricket you can play. I think all the youngsters I've interacted they want to play Test cricket." PTI AS PDS.
I have never seen an Indian side fight
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Thursday hit back at the Australian media for writing about "disharmony" in the Indian dressing room and a rift between him and vice-captain Virender Sehwag, saying he was proud of the dressing room atmosphere and team spirit.
"I have never seen an Indian side fight. May be this happens after a few beers, sitting with the opposition and just dreaming about it. This is one thing we are really proud of," he told reporters ahead of the third Test against Australia starting here on Friday.
"The dressing room atmosphere is great and how we love each others' success. This is Indian team's strength and this is something we are looking to improve further," he added.
Sehwag himself and his senior team-mate Rahul Dravid had Wednesday rubbished the reports of infighting among the players and rift in the team.
Australian media reports had said that Sehwag was at loggerheads with Dhoni and that some players in the team are backing the former to take over captaincy.
Dhoni said he got inputs from all the players, senior or youngsters, and there was no point sulking over the poor performance of the team.
"I get information and advice from all, from experienced guys, vice-captain and youngsters who all move in same direction. It does hurt a bit (when losing) but being a sport you want to improve and make a comeback," said Dhoni.
"You don't want to be emotional about it, try and sit on a chair and say it's really not going our way," he added.