Mahendra Singh Dhoni Promises Aggressive Intent From India at Gabba

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is fit and raring to go against Australia in the second Test starting Wednesday at the Gabba here, asserted that their approach will be aggressive. (Dhoni, Smith in Spotlight for Gabba Test)

Dhoni, who missed the One-Day International (ODI) series at home against Sri Lanka and the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, has fully recovered from a hairline fracture in his thumb and is back at the helm.

"I thought it was the right approach that we went for the target. Unfortunately, (Murali) Vijay got out and we lost a few more wickets. From there, it would have been very difficult to play for a draw and the only right approach was to go for the win. Our approach will remain the same in the coming Tests," Dhoni was quoted as saying by bcci.tv. (Dhoni Has no Fears for India on Pacy Brisbane track)

The skipper also said the long break has done wonders for his body and mind.

"This rest was very important for me. I got the thumb injury while playing in England and I played on because sometimes these injuries settle as you keep playing," he said. (Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc in, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle out)

"But that wasn't the case this time, and the right thumb only got worse with more batting. It was an important call for me because this is an important series, and then there is the World Cup. So, I wanted 20-25 days at a stretch which I got. It was good for me because I got some time to work on my fitness as well," he added. (Draw was never an option in Adelaide, says Virat Kohli)

The 33-year-old Dhoni is also impressed with Virat Kohli's captaincy on debut at the Adelaide Oval.

"He has been fantastic, not only as a captain but also as a leader, even in the ODIs that he has led in," Dhoni said of Kohli.

"He is an aggressive character and is slightly different to what I am. What he did throughout the Test was great, and especially his approach towards his own batting was fantastic. He had a lean series in England and it was good to see the way he prepared for this series and then the way he went out there and batted."

Dhoni hinted that India will go in with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin over leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who made his debut in the first Test. That Ashwin is set to play in Brisbane, was also evident during the practice session when he did the catching drills standing at first slip.

"This wicket will have something for the fast bowlers and with Mitchell (Johnson) bowling left-arm over the wicket and other bowlers bowling round the wicket, there will be footmarks which an off-spinner will be able to exploit better than a left-arm spinner or a leg-spinner," Dhoni said.

"Ashwin is somebody who can bat lower down the order and I feel it is very important because at times we have lost our lower-order very cheaply and the batsman at the other end has not got the support. It would be a great help to have someone like Ashwin at the other end because he not only spends time in the middle but also scores fluently," he added.

Dhoni also said that if he decides to go in with five bowlers, batsman Rohit Sharma will sit out.