Dhaka, Feb 18: “Madamji haaro toh pressure, jeeto toh pressure. Kya karen?” [Ma’am, if we lose there’s pressure, if we win there’s pressure. There’s no way out.] Captain MS Dhoni, as the quoted phrase suggests, is in good humour before the opening game of the World Cup against home side, Bangladesh.

The press conference at the Shere Bangla stadium at Mirpur on the day before the opening was packed with journalists, local and international, eager to get a sound byte or phrase that could sum up the entire Indian World Cup campaign. Dhoni, as undramatic as they come, had a smattering of matter of fact opinions to offer instead – focus on the process, don’t get caught up in the hype and pick the strongest team on the basis of form and conditions.

“It’s going to be a good contest against Bangladesh. We started off on a winning note – from a relaxed start we have picked up intensity,” he said speaking about the warm-up games. And does the team have a strategy to ensure a debacle like the one that happened in the last edition does not recur? “We are not thinking about it. It will not happen.”

When asked the inevitable questions about comparisons between the 2007 World Cup and current squad, Dhoni said there was nothing to choose between the sides in terms of talent. “You could say the current team is in a better frame of mind,” he conceded.

The wicketkeeper-batsman who made his debut in December 2004 wasn’t part of the 2003 campaign. And the 2007 World Cup was less than successful for the side. The current edition is his first outing as a World Cup captain in the subcontinent. “In terms of expectations, it can’t get much better. But we have to think of the process more than the result,” he said perhaps placating an over-eager media contingent in advance for setbacks that may lie ahead.

Much is being made of the fact that this will be golden boy Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup. Dhoni, however, feels it’s not going to be any different captaining the maestro in this tournament. And does he know how much long the Master will embellish the Indian ranks? “If you think 21-22 years is not enough, he’ll play longer,” was MSD’s tongue-in-cheek reply.

With just a day to go before the opening game, Dhoni is giving nothing away in terms of team composition. So whether Suresh Raina will find a place or Virat Kohli and whether Yuvraj fits into the scheme of things still remains to be seen.

On whether India were being termed tournament favourites just on the basis of home conditions Dhoni clarified, “It’s because of our consistent performance over the past two years, even when we’ve missed key players.”

Dhoni has often vouched for his attachment to the 50-over format. “There is no World Cup in Test cricket,” was one of the reasons that he gave for this affinity. “ODI is a good mix of Test and T20 cricket,” he added.

He may be at the helm of a formidable unit, but Dhoni is not one to underestimate the opposition. “They have three left-hand spinners who are likely to get more help in the subcontinent,” he replied when asked about Bangladesh’s strength.

Indian seamers Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra have not had the best run with the team in the lead up to the World Cup. But that doesn’t worry the skipper. He feels their presence in the side is always subject to the conditions, the spinners getting first preference on turning tracks. The good news, though, is that Zaheer Khan “looks fine” to the Indian skipper. The theory of keeping the seamers safe for the tournament proper seems to have paid off.

“If the World Cup won’t do well on the subcontinent, it won’t do well anywhere”, Dhoni stated simply when asked whether the latest tournament would have a lot to make up for considering the subdued nature of the previous edition. “The opening ceremony was superb. I think the buzz is the same all over the subcontinent,” he said.