In recent times, there has been a lot of buzz among the Indian cricket fans about the selectors’ decision to drop MS Dhoni from India’s T20I side that will play the Windies and Australia. He has clearly been struggling with the bat as his lean patch doesn’t seem to be coming to an end. Although hailed as one of the best finishers the game has ever produced, there’s no hiding from the fact that MSD’s abilities have diminished over time.
However, some of the cricketing pundits have predicted that Dhoni will no longer take part in the shortest format for India. Contradictorily, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, who feels Dhoni’s exit from the side is timely as the Men in Blue need to pave the way for a young wicketkeeper-batsman who can also play the role of a finisher, namely the explosive Rishabh Pant.
Earlier, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli had mentioned that it was Dhoni himself who took the decision to drop himself from the side and called for Pant to play instead of him. Mahi will hence be missing the next 6 T20Is, which are also India’s next 6 international fixtures. At the same time, the veteran will definitely be a part of India’s World Cup plans and will need to have some match practice play as much cricket as possible to keep himself in match-fit condition.
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When asked during a show on Aaj Tak whether the decision to drop MS Dhoni from T20Is was right, Sunil Gavaskar said, “Dhoni knows that he will not be a part of the World T20 in 2020, so he’s thought about the overall good of Indian cricket and given Rishabh Pant a chance to gather more experience in T20Is. Pant has an exceptional T20 record in the IPL. So that’s why he’s made himself unavailable.”
Gavaskar further added, “I also want Dhoni to continue to play whatever matches he can for Jharkhand because that’s what will give him match practice. For someone over 35, he needs to be playing international cricket constantly to keep up with the changes. So if he plays as much cricket as possible until January, Indian cricket will benefit from it.”
After the three-match T20I series against the Windies, India will fly to Australia for a full-fledged tour comprising of 3 T20Is, 4 Tests and 3 ODIs. However, Dhoni isn’t likely to return to India colors before January when the ODI series gets underway Down Under.
