India backing too many quick bowlers who haven't been bowling well: Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today hit out at his fast bowlers, saying that the time has come to decide on the future of the existing pace attack.

“This win is good, but we need to make a decision if we want quick bowlers or if we want good bowlers even if they are not quick. We have been backing too many quick bowlers who haven’t been bowling well,” said Dhoni after India posted a face saving win over Bangladesh in the third and final ODI here today.

Umesh Yadav, brought back into the side, leaked 33 runs in four overs.

Dhoni attributed the 77-run win to the team’s performance with the bat. India scored 317 for six courtesy Dhoni’s 69 and a fluent 75 from Shikhar Dhawan.

“What was important was to put runs on the board, which we did,” said Dhoni.

“If we give our bowlers those extra 10-15 runs, the game is on. Partnerships were the key. At times on slow pitches, it looks like you are behind the target but it is important to keep the wickets in tact. We have resources in the last 10 overs to get a par-plus total.”

Dhoni made his runs at number four, a position he would want to continue to bat on.

“The last two years I have hardly batted at 4. If I have, I have only done so after the 30th-35th over. This was my chance to bat. That’s why we have pushed Raina to 6 so that we have an experienced batsman at 6. This is something I can do only if Nos 6 and 7 keep on batting well. I won’t be shy, I hadn’t been moving well against spin but that had to do with the fact that there wasn’t much batting behind me,” he added. Suresh Raina was named man of the match for his 38 and three wickets. He said batting made the difference in the match.

“We batted really well as a group,” said Raina.

“MS and Shikhar had a good partnership. MS took the responsibility. And then we and Stuart (Binny) had a good partnership. Dhawal (Kulkarni) started off the bowling well, and me and Ashwin followed up on it. We played really well today, that’s the positive we will take from here. Bangladesh played really well in the series, looking forward to coming back here.”

Mashrafe Mortaza, who guided Bangladesh to their first ever series win over India, was pleased with the team’s effort.

“The way we have played the whole series, we have a lot of positives, and a lot of lessons from today,” said Mortaza.

“Mustafizur Rahman has been brilliant. It was fantastic to see him bowl under such pressure. We lost too many wickets at regular intervals today. Our batsmen got in and got out. Hvaing said that, we need to learn from these mistakes. South Africa are coming next week. We need to be positive and fit,” added Mortaza.

PTI