Durban: Minutes after becoming India’s new ODI captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted on Tuesday that leading the country is the most “high pressure” job in world cricket. He however, hopes to keep his smile during his captaincy.

Dhoni said that he never imagined playing for the country leave alone captaining.

“I am very happy. I never expected to play for India. So I didn’t expect captaincy either,” Dhoni said after he was made captain for the 12 one-dayers for the Australia and Pakistan home series.

“Captaincy was not an issue for me. I just wanted to play cricket and enjoy it,” he further added.

Commenting on world cricket’s most high-pressure job, Dhoni said: “I think it is really a high-pressure job. It seriously is, I am telling you…. Hopefully, I will keep smiling.

“I don’t know how I will react to it, though. If the team does well, nobody bothers you… The main thing, the motto, should be to do well in every match.”

The 26-year old, who is leading Team India in the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 meet, also said that he has hardly got time to reflect on the enormity of the job at hand.

“I just heard the news in the afternoon and haven’t had the time to reflect on that… I am preparing for the Twenty20 games against England and South Africa. That is crucial for us,” he said.

“There is a gap of three or four days after those matches… And then I will think about it... I think I said something similar when I was coming from England. I had just two or three days before the ICC World Twenty20 meet. It is the same over here. We have to finish this tournament before I think of the ODIs,” Dhoni said.

He also said that the forthcoming home series against Australia and Pakistan will be crucial.

“The coming series against Australia and Pakistan are also important. It has been a long tour of England and here and it will be nice to play some games at home. It is vital for us to perform well in the series.”

On being asked about the players being in and out of the side, Dhoni said: “All the guys are talented and it is just that some of them are not in the best of their form. It is matter of being in form or not.

“Those who are left out are not really at the peak of their form. So they have to earn some points by playing domestic matches and can get back to the Indian team. It is our national team and whoever is in the best form will play.”