These are questions that will keep coming up as the ICC 2013 Champions Trophy, the last ever, nears commencement.
The tournament begins in two days from now, with India — the World's No. 1 ODI team at the moment - taking on South Africa at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on June 6. On Tuesday, in a run-up to that much-awaited contest, MS Dhoni and Co play Australia here at the same venue in their second warm-up match.
On Saturday, India defeated Sri Lanka in the tournament's first warm-up at Edgbaston in what turned out to be a high-scoring contest. The Lankans batted first and posted a 300-plus to which India, riding on a century from the talented Virat Kohli — who's been in great touch right through the Twenty20 league — chased it with considerable ease.
To begin a stint in English conditions with a victory — regardless of the batsman-friendly wicket made available — should've kept Dhoni's team in high spirits the way it normally does, especially in England where the Indian diaspora ensures that fans just can't get enough of the players.
However, on Monday, the players remained completely out of bounds and out of sight for the fans and media alike, staying inside their hotel rooms and refusing to be seen or heard. "Every team has been allowing one player for an interaction with the media almost every day, except for the Indians. They have refused all requests and the captain (Dhoni) is only going to talk a day before the match, which is mandatory by the ICC," said a member of an international media contingent tracking the developments.
The Indian and the international media haven't been able to get enough of Dhoni, following the controversies back in India and the skipper has left no stone unturned to keep it that way.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will know well that playing good cricket alone is going to keep the team away from the unwanted attention that his team is bound to get here. India got off to a positive start against the Sri Lankans and will look forward to carry in a similar vein against Australia here on Tuesday.
India chased 333 with ease as Kohli smashed 144 runs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik - who is still only staking a claim because of Dhoni's enormous presence behind the wickets - also struck a fine century. Their efforts put together should only make the skipper's task more difficult, which the Indian camp certainly won't mind.
While the Sri Lankans are high on spin, the Indians are likely to face a relatively better pace attack against the Aussies with Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner all gearing up to have a go in the much-helpful conditions here.
This is an area that Dhoni will have to keep in mind as the tournament progresses here. Not only will the team's ability to play quality pacers in the swinging conditions here count but also India's ability to play a specialist pace attack that will keep propping time and again.
India rested Umesh Yadav, easily the head of the new-look pace attack and certainly the most dependable of the lot - against Sri Lanka and it is not sure yet if Dhoni will test him against the Aussies. However, that should also tell about the skipper that he's yet to figure out what his final eleven will most likely be when the time comes to play the tournament opener against South Africa.
Dhoni may take a decision only after the outcome of the second warm-up game when he sits down to look at the performances in both matches before picking an ideal eleven.
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