Skipper Dhoni urges his players, who missed out on World Cup berth, to give off their best in remainder of series
Even as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men prepared for today's third one-day international against South Africa, the lack of intensity in India's camp during the training session was evident, after the squad for the World Cup was announced.
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The likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth and Murali Vijay did not make the final cut. But skipper Dhoni maintained that it was important for these players to stay in a good frame of mind and wait for an opportunity.
Be patient
"My advice to them is to give it their best shot and wait for their chance. It (this series) is a good opportunity for all," said Dhoni, while addressing reporters at Newlands.
Dhoni is facing bigger problems though as Sachin Tendulkar joined three other first XI members in India's injured list. The Indian skipper is also worried about the fitness of his seamers.
Meanwhile back home, World Cup campaigns have kicked into high gear. It is palpable the Indians are counting down the days, desperate to fly back home ahead of cricket's showpiece event. But there is a series to be won and the stakes are high.
While, the Indian skipper tried his best to keep this sentiment in check, reiterating his side had plenty of issues to address going into today's game.
"We won the previous game, but are currently playing below potential. There are issues to be addressed in all three departments of the game. We can't keep repeating mistakes. The World Cup is round the corner. We need to step it up, work on our weaknesses" said Dhoni.
No experiments
South Africa's World Cup squad will be announced tomorrow. Coach Corrie van Zyl said his side was in no mood to experiment.
"It's about getting the right time to win this game. The World Cup squad has no relation to it. We cannot experiment at this stage," he said.
Asked if his team would start favourites thanks to a depleted Indian outfit, a rather grumpy Van Zyl said: "It doesn't matter to us whether India are in full-strength or depleted. It's not an issue for us. We know that we are a good team and have the ability to win this series. Cannot be bothered about how they (India) are shaping up."
He conceded that South Africa were missing stalwart all-rounder Jacques Kallis.u00a0 "We are missing Kallis quite a lot. He brings a certain balance to the team," said van Zyl.
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