“We need some rest. The amount of cricket we’re playing... you either take a break, or you break down. You get tired, exhausted... there will be a point when you need time to think about your cricket and other things.”

Relief over Pak decision

This team defied all odds; they defied the world champions, the hostile crowds (and the aggressive Aussie media), the challenging conditions — and some ludicrous scheduling by cricket’s commercially driven administrators.

In fact, there was a collective sense of relief in the camp when the BCCI regretted their inability to send a team to Pakistan for three one-dayers. At such short notice, even the board couldn’t have accommodated them.

So far, there’s been talk revolving around rotating the fast bowlers. But even the emergence of Ishant and Praveen Kumar has had more to do with injuries to Zaheer Khan and RP Singh, rather than any planned breaks.

No time for bikes

Dhoni admits he has passions other than cricket — his bikes, for one — but there’s no time for anything else. “I’ve not ridden my bike for a long time now. If it had gone to the last game, we would have boarded flight on the 9th... that would’ve given us hardly any time to relax and switch off, or spend time with our families,” he said.

And it’s not that cricketers around the world have such hectic schedules. Cricket Australian ensures their team never arrives in a block of three months — Australia came to India last October-November to play one-day series, and will return this October for a separate three-Test series.

... contd.