MS Dhoni Is Central To Team India’s 2019 World Cup Plans: Ravi Shastri
Sep 2, 2017 at 12:01 PM
With Mahendra Singh Dhoni turning the heat with his bat in the ongoing series, Team India head coach Ravi Shastri feels the former skipper is far from being finished.
Dhoni had entered the series under severe pressure with not only the critics taking a shot at him but also the chief selector MSK Prasad making it clear that time was running out for the out-of-form wicketkeeper-batsman as he claimed that Dhoni was no more a guaranteed starter in the team.
However, the World Cup-winning captain has silenced all his detractors wrong with some scintillating displays in Sri Lanka. After missing out on batting in the first ODI, Dhoni proved his worth with an unbeaten 45-run knock in the second ODI that helped the team to recover from 131 for 7 and chase down 231. In the following game, he once again played a crucial knock, slamming 67 under pressure as Team India chased down 218 after being reduced to 61 for 4. In the fourth ODI, the 36-year old once again came to the team’s rescue, scoring an unbeaten 49 and adding 101 runs for the sixth wicket with Manish Pandey to help the Men in Blue put a daunting 375 after they were reeling at 274 for 5.
And his performance has impressed coach Ravi Shastri so much that the head coach has said the wicketkeeper-batsman is not even half-finished and is an essential part of the team’s 2019 World Cup plans. Shastri made the comments while talking to Hindi news outlet Aaj Tak.
“Ravi Shastri says @msdhoni is not even half finished, is central to World Cup 2019 plans,” tweeted sports journalist Vikrant Gupta.
Ravi Shastri says @msdhoni is not even half finished, is central to World Cup 2019 plans #Breaking now on @aajtak
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) September 1, 2017
Meanwhile, earlier this month, MSK Prasad had caused a stir by stating that Dhoni was not an automatic choice in the team anymore before going on to say that the selectors would have to look out for alternatives if the senior batsman does not perform.
“Discussions happen about everybody. It is not just MS Dhoni (or anybody else). When we pick, when we talk about combinations, we talk about everybody. Whenever a player keeps ageing, for example, I was just reading Agassi’s book, Open, his life actually started after 30 years. Till then he won two or three titles. His actual life started after that. He lived with media pressure, ‘When are you going to retire?’,” Prasad had said.
“But he played till 36 and he won so many Grand Slams. So you never know. If he (Dhoni) is delivering, why not? If he is not, we will have to look at alternatives,” he had added.