Dhoni: India not getting the finished product

Cricket365
January 14, 2016

India captain MS Dhoni admits that his country do not produce players that are ready for international cricket like they use to but that will not stop the Asian side from blooding a few newcomers in the ODI series against Australia.

India, who take on the Aussies in the first ODI of the five-match series in Perth on Tuesday, look set to hand a debut to seam bowler Barinder Sran, who has only played in eight List A matches and 11 first-class games.

The 23 year-old Sran has obviously been picked because he has huge potential and Dhoni said he will have to learn his trade on the international scene, where as previously India's domestic system produced the finished article.

Dhoni said: "As far as the newcomers are concerned, we will definitely feature them and see where they stand. Also we have to slightly get ahead of time. If you see Indian cricket, more often than not, we are used to getting the complete product.

"Right from the late '80s onwards we have got cricketers who were ready to play international cricket. Once they made their debut they were there for like 10 to 15 years.

"I think the trend is changing slowly. Even if you see the batsmen nowadays, they have been part of the side for quite some time and we have had to groom them. I feel the same applies to the bowlers.

"We may not have the luxury of just picking up the complete product to come into international cricket and start delivering from the very first game.

"It is important to identify talent and at the same time give them games quite quickly so that they get that exposure of international cricket. And we also see get to see how they handle pressure and the areas where they need to improve."