cricket news: Indians will handle pressure better at T20 WC post-IPL: Dhoni

Johannesburg: Youngsters gaining experience in handling pressure, emergence of match-winning part-timers and valuable practice are the positives Indians have taken from the IPL as they gear up to defend their Twenty20 World Championship crown next month, says skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"Well, the good thing if you see in this tournament that will really help us in ICC World Twenty20 will be the emergence of part-timers who have done really well. Especially in the field restrictions, you have Yusuf Pathan bowling at that point, Harbhajan (Singh) has bowled and (Pragyan) Ojha also has bowled," Dhoni, who captained Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, said after the semifinal loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Most of the spinners are part-timers who are a part of the side, they have bowled in that particular time when you as a bowler are under pressure. Not much of spin, maybe the ball holds on a bit over here. But overall the experience will really count, this tournament in the 55-60 games that took place, most of them went really close.

"Most of the Indian batsmen who were part of that winning side or maybe the bowlers who were part of that winning moment, were under pressure. They will handle the pressure well when it comes to an international T20 game also. Loads of positives that will help the players who were part of the side," he elaborated.

Dhoni said he was impressed with the domestic talent that came into limelight during the Indian Premier League. "...we have seen new domestic players also coming up and performing at this level. Overall you can say, a good tournament for us, last year's IPL did help the Indian team to perform better when it comes to T20 and even one-day format. Hopefully this year's tournament will take us to the next level," he said. Chennai were the runners-up last year but crashed out in semis this season. Dhoni said the team was done in by injuries to some key bowlers, which made their attack fragile. The wicketkeeper-batsman was also not too happy with the fielding of his team.

"Well of course, it's a batsman's game, people say it's a batsman's game but bowlers are important because they definitely contribute in the team's win. Our bowling department was very fragile from the very start. Injuries never really help," he said.

"Sudeep Tyagi going out with an injury, Albie Morkel having injury, Manpreet Singh Gony also suffered injury. That was a problem you can say. But overall I am quite happy with the performance of the side. Definitely we need to field better. We are a better fielding side than whatever we have done in this tournament. Hopefully next year we will be a better fielding side," he added.