Dhoni: ‘Don’t want to jinx but India one of the most dangerous teams at World Cup’

MS Dhoni feels India are “one of the most dangerous teams” at the 2026 T20 World Cup

India are the defending champions and enter the tournament with a 51-8 win-loss record in T20Is since October 2023.

Their batting line-up is packed with some of the biggest six-hitters in the world, and in Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy, they have two of the best bowlers around.

“What all is needed in a good team, everything is there,” Dhoni said at an event. “They have the experience, especially when it comes to this format, the experience is vast. They have played under pressure. Whoever is playing whatever roles they are playing in the team, they have been in that situation for a considerable period of time.”

One thing that worries Dhoni is dew, which can tilt the balance in favour of the chasing team during a night game.

“What worries me, again, I hate dew,” he said. “Dew changes a lot of things. Even when I was playing, something that really scared me was dew, where the toss becomes crucial and all of that.”

Apart from that, there is the inherent uncertainty of the format: anyone can beat anyone on a given day.

“If we are playing ten matches against some of the best teams, we will come out as winners more often than not, if the conditions are neutral and all of that.

“The problem is when some of your players have a day off and somebody from the opposition has a brilliant day, and it can happen in T20 cricket. So that’s the time – whether in the league stage or the knockout stage, that’s where all the praying is needed. You know, nobody should get injured. Whatever roles are given, people should accomplish their roles for the team. And if that’s the case, I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s one of the most dangerous teams.” (ESPNcricinfo)