Kanpur, Nov. 23: With Gautam Gambhir evolving into a complete batsman, there is just no need to straitjacket Virender Sehwag’s characteristic daredevilry, feels India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sehwag has been in his devil-may-care self in the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, getting off to rollicking starts but not staying long enough to convert them into big knocks.

Asked if the Delhi dasher needs to tone down his cavalier attitude in the second Test against Sri Lanka here, Dhoni replied in the negative. "You don’t really want to tell a player like him what to do. He is more of an aggressor and is not the kind of guy who would stick to the wicket for one-and-half days. He is always looking to get on with game," Dhoni explained. "We want him to play his natural game. He is a very experienced player and we don’t need to tell him anything."

India probably can afford to let Sehwag play his natural game since the other opener, Gambhir, has evolved into a complete batsman, who can shelve his natural aggression and graft for hours, something he displayed in the drawn first Test in Ahmedabad.

Said Dhoni, "He is a great character. Thrust him into any condition and he would play accordingly. He can shift gears easily and uses his feet well against the spinners. He has been consistently in good form over the past one-and-a-half year and whenever the team needed, he delivered. Once he sets himself well, he goes for big innings."

Dhoni was his usual coy self when asked about team combination. "It has always been an issue in the media, but you have to wait till tomorrow," he said.

Asked how he rated S. Sreesanth in the nets, Dhoni said the Kerala speedster was impressive but also sprang in defence of Ishant Sharma which revealed little about his preference between the two. "Sreesanth has bowled well in the nets. He bowled with great pace and swung it a lot but we will have to wait till tomorrow," Dhoni said.

"Ishant, meanwhile, is back in rhythm, as we saw in Ahmedabad. He is putting in a lot of effort and the improvement is there to see," he said.

After the runfeast in Ahmedabad, Dhoni reckoned the pitch at the Green Park Stadium here would have more for the bowlers.

"Compared to Motera, the pitch here looks different. It has got some grass and the base is dry. But you cannot really predict how the wicket would play the next five days.

"I feel initially there would be some help for the seamers. The outfield is not lush, so there would be some reverse swing for the fast bowlers. Overall, I feel it would be a better wicket for the bowlers," he explained.

One thing that has left Dhoni dithering is whether to bat first or not if he wins the toss. "First sessions will be important. Everyday there would be a bit of help for the pacers. Even in ODIs, if we see the first 30-45 minutes are important. Now here you have to decide whether to bat first and go hard in the first one hour" he said.

Dhoni fit, Karthik released for Ranji

Meanwhile, Dhoni has been declared fit for the second Test. The Indian skipper hurt his finger during the first drawn Test in Ahmedabad and the team management had flown in wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik as a replacement.

But now with Dhoni declared fit here on Monday, Karthik will join Tamil Nadu in Dharamshala for the Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh.

Dhoni arrived here on Sunday and during Monday’s net session at the Green Park he batted easily hitting some powerful shots. He also bowled seam-up at the nets.

India are likely to go in with the same spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha is likely to be released for Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy match. — Agencies