Centurion, Sept. 25: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s load has grown almost continuously over the past few weeks. With Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan ruled out of the 2009 Champions Trophy even before the squad for the event was picked, he was dealt a hammer-blow when middle-order stalwart Yuvraj Singh broke a finger in training and was also forced out of the event here.

Speaking ahead of India’s opening Group A clash against Pakistan, Dhoni admitted Yuvraj’s absence would be hard to deal with. Excerpts:

On Yuvraj’s absence: You can’t really do much when injuries happen. The format is so demanding, nowadays every practice session you go into you have to give your 100 per cent. At times you get injured. With Viru not being there we relied on part timers. All of a sudden out of the five part-timers we had we’ve lost three. It will be tough to fill in that space not only in batting but also in bowling.

On roles for batsmen: It’s tough to say right now what the roles and responsibilities of remaining batsmen will be in Yuvraj’s absence. It depends on the scenario and the start the top three batsmen give. Accordingly, you set short goals. We don’t go into the field, look at the wicket and say we’re looking for a 250 score. Depending on the start accordingly we fix short-term targets.

As far as capitalising on the batting powerplay we still have quite a few batsmen who can play strokes in that slot. The start will be important.

On playing Pakistan: There is a rivalry when you play any team. When you turn up on the field you want to win games. You don’t want to put pressure on yourself by thinking you are playing Pakistan and we have to win. What we want to do is go out there, enjoy our cricket, do our best, enjoy the moment. People take it in a different way. At the end of the day it’s the same cricket that you play. Of course there is more intensity shown on the field.

On this being a ‘revenge match’ for Pak: They are a tough side. When they’re doing really well they’re capable of beating any side at the international level. It’s just another game, the start of Champions Trophy. It will be tough but that’s what you expect in a tournament like that. Ultimately if you think too much about Pakistan your chances of being successful or being able to perform on the field goes down considerably.

What we’d like to do is go out there, play the game like just another game and play according to potential.

On replacing Yuvi: It’s like announcing the playing XI. I can’t do that. We have to see quite a few things, who fits the role best and what kind of role is assigned to the individual. Accordingly we’ll decide the best potential guy to do the job.

On including Amit Mishra: He is bowling well. But with our team, playing with five bowlers is a luxury. The last time we played five bowlers consistently was in Australia. What we are lacking is a bowling allrounder. Someone who can bowl seam up and contribute with the bat lower down the order. If you have someone like that you can play two spinners. What happens in these conditions you can’t think of playing six batsmen and five bowlers because there will be pressure on you, especially if you’re chasing, and you can’t control the toss.

On India playing crucial games in Centurion: Depending on what we have seen at Jo’burg these wickets are comparatively better. The ball is coming nicely on to the bat, it is turning a bit. It seems this wicket is much better suited for ODIs so that’s good for us. It’s not about being lucky. We could have ended up playing there and the wicket could have been better. I believe it’s destiny. We were destined to play here.