Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s batting performances in the 2nd and 3rd ODIs against England has raised many questions on his match-finishing skills yet again.
At The Lord’s, Dhoni scored a 59-ball 37 while chasing a mammoth total of 322 while at Headingley, he lost his wicket on 42 after facing 66 deliveries. His slow batting rate has invited the critics to raise fingers on his future, keeping the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in mind.
Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly suggested that the Indian wicketkeeper in the limited-overs format should start hitting the ball from the word go.
“At the moment Dhoni is not turning it around. He’s stuck in the middle and the problem has been persisting for more than a year. If Dhoni has to play, he has to start hitting the ball from the word go, India have to make a choice between Dhoni and Karthik and play one of them at No. 6,” said Ganguly, who was part of the commentary team during the T20I and ODI series, said on the post-match talk-show.
Ganguly also questioned the move of benching KL Rahul for the decider and deploying Suresh Raina at No. 4.
“KL Rahul has to come in at No. 4 and with all due respect, there are better players than Suresh Raina in India. India have to find a couple of good players at No.4 and No. 5.”
After clinching the T20I series 2-1, India lost the ODI rubber 1-2 on Tuesday. This defeat turned out to be India’s first ODI series loss under Virat Kohli’s leadership.
Team India will now gear-up for the 5-match Test series starting from August 1. The first match will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham.