Dhoni said he was not worried about his previous experience in West Indies where he had not clicked as well as expected with the bat.

“I have done my homework. What matters is the homework. I will play according to the platform that they give me,” he told India’s leading news channnel NDTV.

“I would love to play according to the situation and I can play differently and at times I have proved it. I have been a failure at times also,’ he said adding that “An ideal situation would be batting first on a flat wicket and me in the middle in the 35th over.”

Asked on whether he felt added pressure after former Selection Committee chief Kiran More said India’s fortunes in the World Cup were dependant on Dhoni clicking with the bat, he said, “It puts some pressure on me but I have to concentrate on what I have to do well.”

“The statement by Kiran More is motivating, but I would like to forget it and set my own expectations,” he added.

Dhoni said that in spite of what people said about his wicketkeeping skills, he had been steadily improving. “I may have had a couple of bad matches but overall I have improved in every series.”

He also said that he was focussed both on his keeping and batting. “If I am with the bat I forget I am a wicketkeeper. I divide my training sessions.”

On the many statistics that have come to be a part of his career, he said, “When I was in school my teacher used to say that with statistics you can prove anything, so I would like to forget about them. Stats can only give you a boost. I would like to maintain my level and play the way I have been playing.”

Dhoni said he saw his meteoric rise as an achievement, but the “real challenge is to be consistent and keep performing”.

Asked on India’s chances in the World Cup, he said, “I don’t like to predict. We will give 100 per cent. Every match will be played with the same intensity. I think that’s important.”

Dhoni said he had no personal goals in the World Cup and hoped that he would get to play in a dream India-Pakistan World Cup final.

Spelling out that the swashbuckling stumper-batsman is the main difference in the Indian team compared to the team that finished runners-up in 2003, Ganguly said: “Comparing this team to that of the last World Cup, the emergence of Dhoni is the single big addition to this team. He’s the only major difference.”

Pointing out the importance of in-form Dhoni as a batsman for the World Cup, Ganguly maintained that the remainder of the side is more or less the same.

“The core team is still the same, there isn’t much of a difference in the composition of the core players between the 2003 and the 2007 sides,” the 34-year-old batsman told mediapersons this afternoon.

“In fact, there are about 10 players from this Indian team who were part of the World Cup campaign four years ago. So, as far as overall team composition is concerned, I don’t think there has been much of a change in these four years, except for Dhoni’s emergence, of course,” added Ganguly.

The former Indian captain, who is the team’s only certain opener for the mega event, will leave for Mumbai on Wednesday, where Rahul Dravid & Co will assemble and then set off for the West Indies.

With pundits seeing this edition of the World Cup as an open battle unlike the last time round, Ganguly too believes each one of the top big teams is in with a chance and there’s no overwhelming favourite for the title hunt. “It’s an open World Cup, this one. It’s anybody’s game. There are quite a few good teams, and all are in with a chance,” Ganguly said when asked to pinpoint if he sees any team as the favourite.

Ganguly had led India to the final of the World Cup in South Africa four years back.

On a day when the experienced player went hopping from one function to another, Ganguly’s last stop today was the Eden Gardens, where he was presented with a good-luck gift — a crystal ball and trophy — on behalf of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) administration. The conspicuous absentee at the ceremony was CAB president and Kolkata Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, whose mother expired a couple of days back.

His good form ahead of the World Cup can only be a bonus for Team India.

The Jharkhand dasher smashed the Proteas bowlers all over the ground during the recent tour of South Africa and then treated the West Indian and Sri Lankan bowlers in a similar manner a few weeks later.

Dhoni become the only Indian batsman to average over 100 in both the series at home this year.

The performance came at the right time - just before the World Cup – and also took him to number two in the ICC rankings for one day batsmen last week.

In fact, under Greg Chappell, India have been one of the more adventurous in being radical in approach. Hence, one can speculate incessantly on the team composition and batting slots of the players.

Now that the team is all set to launch its World Cup campaign, one such point of debate is where Mahendra Singh Dhoni should bat during the mega event in the Caribbean.

Should he keep coming down the order at No.6 or should he be sent higher up, maybe at no.3? The dazzling brilliance of Dhoni and his importance to the Indian team need no emphasis here.

His resourcefulness, his combativeness and his growing maturity make him critical to India’s chances. The same virtues also make him useful in more that one position in the batting order.

And that sometimes can present a challenge to the team management — how best to utilise this volcano of talent? Thankfully, unlike some other seniors in the team, Dhoni has managed to quickly adapt to the demands of the thinktank, excelling at various positions and lending flexibility to the group.

Dhoni has been phenomenally prolific in the upper echelons of the batting hierarchy. The Jharkhand star averages 49, 64.25 and 102.33 at No.1/2, No.3 and No.4 respectively.

India, runners-up to Australia in the World Cup final in Johannesburg four years ago, will line-up in Group B alongside Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and minnows Bermuda.

Neither Bermuda nor Bangladesh will be expected to mount a serious challenge to the Indians, leaving Sri Lanka as the team most likely to pose a threat to Greg Chappell’s men in the tournament’s early stages.

However, a recent 2-1 series win against the Sri Lankans will undoubtedly hand India a psychological advantage heading into their meeting on March 23.

But 25-year-old Dhoni, who shone with the bat in last month’s triumph over Sri Lanka, is adamant that his team must be prepared to be pushed all the way by their opponents.

He said: “I am more concerned about our team doing well and am not really worried about other teams doing badly, or whether they are in good form or not.

“I think we should concentrate on our good points and strong points, and maintain the strategy - however we are doing - and if we need to change it we’ll do so.”

The World Cup gets under way in the Caribbean on March 13, while India begin their campaign against Bangladesh four days later.

There may be a shroud of secrecy over Team India’s gameplan for the World Cup, but one peek inside reveals an interesting blueprint — at least for the opening phase. You will come across a final XI packed with batsmen, including a set of “impact players” who will push the team through the crucial middle overs.

On the team sheet, this would mean seven batsmen and four bowlers, with Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Dhoni expected to play key roles. Tendulkar, at No 4, is expected to take the scoring reins around the 12-20 overs phase, Yuvraj, at No 5, during the 20-30 overs period, and Dhoni thereafter. Hopefully, holding fort at the other end will be comeback man Sourav Ganguly in the opening overs and skipper Rahul Dravid later. In this blueprint, you will also find Virender Sehwag, struggling for form and focus, slated to get one final shot as opener, with Ganguly.

And then, at No 3, you might just raise your eyebrows again: Robin Uthappa. After that 41-ball 70 against West Indies, and the 37-ball 52 last month at No 3 against India’s Group B rival Sri Lanka, the team thinktank is convinced that Uthappa can shock and shake any opposition, softening them up for the big bats of Tendulkar and Yuvraj. They also expect the 21-year-old Bangalorean to take charge of the early run rate, in case Sehwag fails again.