‘Yorkers key for success in ODI’

Rajkot, Dec. 14: In one-dayers, the last ten overs are crucial and can make or break a game. Realising the need to tighten up things, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that the bowlers will have to bowl yorkers consistently.

“Bowling at death has been a concern for us for quite sometime now. Variations are important but in the final overs, yorkers are potential weapons and we should bowl more of those. We have done well in patches but we need to be consistent,” said Dhoni on the eve of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, on Monday.

Meanwhile, another aspect that has been bothering the skipper is the poor fielding. The 28-year-old, has time and again, voiced his concerns. “We have a few areas of concern and fielding has been a bit of concern. There are a few youngsters who have come into the team and this is a chance for them to show their fielding abilities. We need to stop easy singles and stop them from converting singles into twos. So the fielders in the deep will also have some work to do.”

In an attempt to bolster their fielding, Australian fielding coach Mike Young has been roped in as consultant for the T20 and ODI series. “Since Young has joined us we have been laying emphasis on fielding. It’s a very important aspect of any format of the game. If you can see the impact in three days that will be great,” he said.

But he added that it will be a while before one can see any major improvements. “We need to get our basics right. If you get your basics right and are also practicing well there are very good chances you will field well and the injury list also goes down at the same time. It will take some time, but it will start to reflect soon.”