Will try to keep pressure off Yuvraj: Dhoni

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Press Trust of India Rajkot
Last Updated : Oct 09 2013 | 4:46 PM IST
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today conceded that comeback-man Yuvraj Singh will be under some pressure during the upcoming ODI series against Australia but said the team would insulate him from any "undue" stress by keeping things "normal" in the dressing room.
Yuvraj would be eager to prove a point after being recalled to the squad following a string of good scores for India A against the West Indies A and a solid display for India Blue in the Challenger Series.
Dhoni said the 31-year-old, who beat a rare germ cell cancer last year, will perform well if he manages to keep his mind off pressure and expectations.
"We are trying to keep it as normal as possible...If it becomes like a comeback scenario, I think there is a kind of pressure on the player. It doesn't matter if you are one of the biggest match-winners. It is very important to take that feeling away from the individual that he is making his comeback," Dhoni said ahead of the only Twenty20 match against Australian to be played here tomorrow.
"Because what's important is for the individual to be expressive on field, back himself, have belief in his talent, the kind of talent that he has got. Ultimately that will show on the field. We will try to keep it as normal as possible and try to take the undue pressure off him and hopefully that will work," he added.
He backed the the left-hander, who has been recalled after playing his last ODI in January.
"Yuvraj, of course is a match winner and we all know that. He is a big player and has been proving himself whenever questions have been raised. The fact is that he is a big match player. He performs well in big matches. He does well in tough series. We are hoping that he will come back strong," he said.
Despite the BCCI advancing the start of the ODI matches by an hour, Dhoni said dew would be a key factor and a lot would depend on it, especially the use of spinners.
"We will have to see exactly how much it turns, whether dew will be a factor because if dew becomes a factor then the spinners may not get the same amount of turn that they would have got at some other time of the year," Dhoni explained.
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First Published: Oct 09 2013 | 4:46 PM IST

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