Dhoni shrugs off fitness concerns

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has shrugged off fitness concerns in his team ahead of the first Test against Australia, beginning here tomorrow, and stressed the importance of starting the Boxing Day match well. The fitness of India's premier fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma has been under doubt after their showing in the warm-up games in Canberra. Zaheer is returning to big time cricket after recovering from a hamstring injury while Sharma decided to have an ankle surgery at the end of the Australia tour. Dhoni said the team management has taken all possible precautions to keep the pace duo injury-free and hoped that they don't break down in the middle of the tour. "We have missed Zaheer quite a few times in the past. We gave them [Ishant and Zaheer] some time off. They bowled in the practice game as well as in the net sessions. They are shaping up well. There are two more days and we know a lot can happen in that time frame. Hopefully, they would all be available for selection," Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) yesterday. "We have tried to take as much precaution as we could to make sure they stay injury-free. They both have also played their part, they worked outside the field also, in the gym and the rehab sessions they needed to do. They have put in a lot of effort in practice." Dhoni said the whole squad is fit and the two practice games have helped them prepare well for the crunch series. He went on to say that they must start well in the first Test. Extra pressure "How we start in the first Test is important. We want to be in the moment, break the match into sessions, try to win more sessions than the opposition. If we win enough sessions, then we will win the match. We want to do the small things right and not think where we want to be at the end of the fourth Test. "There is no point in taking that extra pressure. It will not help us. We need to keep it simple," Dhoni said. The last series in Australia saw controversies with Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds getting into a verbal spat during the Sydney Test, making the atmosphere on the field tense throughout the four Tests. Dhoni, before leaving for Down Under, had made it clear that he would like to see a controversy-free tour. He reiterated the same thing here. "Individuals do make mistakes. But as a professional cricketer, you don't want it. There is a lot at stake in the series, people look up to you, so you want it controversy-free. Having said that, it is important you make it interesting," said Dhoni while referring to the 2008 controversy involving Symonds and Harbhajan. Injury worries: Dravid skips the nets Indian batting mainstay Rahul Dravid did not turn up for the net practice at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) yesterday but the side's media manager insisted that he is fine and only wanted to take a break ahead of the first Test against Australia beginning tomorrow. Dravid normally has a fetish for nets and usually pads up earlier than his team-mates. However, he wasn't seen in the nets as the Indians went through an intense practice session. "He's quite fine, nothing wrong with him. He just wanted to have break and the team management has acceded to his request," said G.S. Walia, media manager of the team. Dravid needs only 28 runs to complete 2,000 runs against Australia in Tests. He has 1,972 runs from 29 Tests at an average of 41.08 with just two centuries. Both of his centuries, though, came for a winning cause — the 180 he hit at Eden Gardens during the 2001 series and the 233 he managed at Adelaide during the 2004 series.