Fit-again MS Dhoni is set to return to the Indian side for the fourth ODI against New Zealand at Hamilton on Thursday.
Dhoni, who missed the previous ODI due to a hamstring niggle, batted in the nets on Wednesday without any real sign of discomfort. He was moving well both against the seamers and pacers ahead of the fourth ODI.
This was only the second instance when Dhoni was not because of an injury. He had missed three ODIs in 2013 because of a hamstring injury.
The board, however, is yet to make an official announcement about Dhoni’s fitness but India’s net session revealed there is nothing much to worry about the former captain. A final decision on Dhoni's availability will be taken before the toss on Thursday.
If Dhoni is available for selection then team management avoids tinkering with the combination, he will walk in as Virat Kohli's replacement. Kohli has been rested for the remainder of the tour.
However, if the visitors opt for a like-for-like replacement, then Indian fans could get a glimpse of the immensely talented Shubman Gill in the senior team jersey.
Billed as one for the future, many experts have found a striking similarity in the 19-year-old Gill's strokes with the ones that Kohli plays effortlessly.
"I wasn't even 10 per cent of what he (Shubman) is, when I was 19," Kohli had said after India's series win in Mount Maunganui.
In case both Gill and Dhoni are included, Dinesh Karthik could well be rested.
Dhoni has been in magnificent form hitting three half-centuries in his last five ODIs. He also adjudged the Player of the Series in Australia for scores of 51, 55 not out and 87 not out.
He continued in the same vein in the ongoing series against New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 33-ball 48 to take India to 324-4 in the second ODI