Dhoni: Need to introspect and switch off from cricket

Despite being winless on the tour and not making it to the final of the tir-series, skipper MS Dhoni feels the team can lift itself by taking a break before the World Cup and introspecting rather than coming back every day to the ground and doing the same thing over and over. "We have been here for more than two months. So we know the conditions pretty well. What is important right now is a break. Completely switch off from cricket. Just do a bit of introspection on what needs to be done," Dhoni told the media after India's defeat on Friday .

"It's not only me. Everybody is looking forward to a break. Lock the kitbag. Keep it somewhere, you don't even want to see it. Completely switch off from cricket," Dhoni said about the team's plan over the next week before they assemble in Adelaide on December 6 and prepare to defend the World Cup with warm-up games against Australia on February 8 and Afghanistan on February 10.

He said being winless on the tour did not matter much. "We were in a process of executing a plan and to large extent we have done so. The warm-up matches will give us the opportunity to try out the players and we will know what who stands where and what exactly to expect in the World Cup."

This is what the skipper had to say on other issues:

Winless on the tour

More than the wins what is more important is the process. To win and carry the momentum is crucial but before what's more important is that all the 15 guys are fit. In this tournament, not all 15 were fit. Getting into a tournament like the World Cup, it is important that all of them have some kind of games behind them. In the upcoming warm-up games, we will try to give players as many chances as possible. There were still a lot of positives - the way a few of the bowlers bowled and the way a few batsmen batted. But collectively we haven't done well.

Confidence in the dressing room

I think from the confidence point of view we are quite good. We try to give more emphasis on what needs to be done to executing the plan. We have been in this situation before and we know exactly how it feels and how to overcome that feeling.

On Kohli's batting position

Today, Virat was supposed to bat at 3, irrespective of when the wicket fell because with this batting line-up, we had a bit of batting down the order. With Binny and Jadeja in the team, the lower order looked strong. You have to ultimately see the whole strength of the squad. I know individuals love to bat at a certain slot. If you don't have people who can float around in the batting order, it becomes very difficult. I know a lot of teams are not very flexible. They want their respective players to bat at a certain slot but cricket I feel has evolved.

Ishant's fitness issues

According to the physio, he may be fit in the next four days. Apart from that, I don't know. I just ask him who all are available and he tells me who are the guys who are available. I am alright with that.

Dhawan back in the runs

It's good that he has got runs. If he had not scored in this game, certainly he would have gone into the break putting a bit more pressure on himself. There was a bit of assistance for the fast bowlers, it was not an easy wicket to bat on initially. I felt he did good.