India need 'intensity needed for international game'
Click here to listen to Ian Chappell's assessment of India.
Overview
It so seems like yesterday, for the rest of the time between the two World Twenty20s has been one blur of series after series, ending, yet again, with the IPL. Starting early September, India have been to Sri Lanka for a tri-series, to South Africa for the Champions Trophy, have played in the Champions League, a seven-ODI series against Australia, hosted Sri Lanka for a full tour, have been on a full tour of Bangladesh, followed by a quickie from South Africa, and finally the IPL.
It also seems like yesterday because MS Dhoni's departure press conference was almost identical to the one last year. Fatigue and tight schedules, he says, are the reality for an India cricketer. You just shrug your shoulders, and get on with it. And he is the kind of player and captain who will get on with it. At least he knows the selectors haven't chosen players carrying niggles. Or so we are told.
Kirsten, whose complaints last year didn't exactly endear himself to the men who decide when the cricketers play whom, again pointed towards the disadvantage India start with. "The Indian players may feel the heat of it more," he said, "because all of them played in the IPL, but our responsibility is to go out there and ensure that we are well prepared. We will do what we can in these circumstances."
He knows, and the team knows, they have to get up to the "intensity you need at international level". Knowing this is the reality of an India cricketer, time to shrug the shoulders and get on with it. Then again it can't be so bad: as reluctant participants, they had done the same in the first issue of the World Twenty20.
Strength and weaknesses
That there is enough firepower in the side is beyond doubt. Even in the absence of Virender Sehwag, it is a batting line-up to contend with. There is enough balance in the side to be able to play four specialist bowlers and one out of Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan. The bowlers world over know there isn't much time for ducking and leaving in Twenty20s, and also that the young Indians are not the best attackers of the ball headed for the throat, so there will be bouncers on display. And on flat pitches, Indian bowlers have not been the best around when the slog is on.
Twenty20 pedigree
India haven't exactly been a hot Twenty20 side since their title triumph in the inaugural event. Since then they have lost seven matches and won five, including ones against Ireland and Bangladesh.
Key men
Suresh Raina, coming off a fifty in the IPL final, is the form player, and will have to transform that promise on the big stage. He will want to score a majority of the middle-order runs.In the absence of Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir has a big job to do at the top.
Harbhajan Singh's role will be significant on the slower tracks in the Caribbean.
X-factor
A charged-up Dhoni can be the difference between a lethargic side and an inspired one, as he showed on more than one occasion in his IPL side's winning campaign. He has the makings of India's greatest captain ever, and is one of the best going around in the world today. And captaincy - one extra second of calmness, one field placement in a crucial over, one choice of a part-time bowler - can be the game-changer in Twenty20s.
Vital stats
Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo