MS Dhoni’s Non-Inclusion For The Deodhar Trophy Raises Few Questions
Mar 22, 2017 at 2:34 PM
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Tuesday (March 21), announced the India Blue and India Red squad for the upcoming Deodhar Trophy. Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel have been handed the captaincy of the Blue and Red respectively.
A closer look at both the sides will make it crystal clear that the selectors are willing to give the fringe players and the regular Indian players, who are short on match practice, a chance to free their arms during the last 50-over tournament before the Indian team flies to England to defend their Champions Trophy in June.
The tournament, which will be played between March 25 and 29 in Vizag, will feature the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, all staking claim for a couple of batting slots that are up for grabs. However, one notable absentee from the squads is former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
At first, Dhoni’s absence will not make a striking impression since the 35-year old has rarely played in the List A tournaments in the last decade or so. However, the current situation raises a few question on the squad selection.
The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, who retired from Tests, has been getting very limited chances to play international cricket since India have been playing Tests in the ongoing home season. The limited-overs series against England earlier this year has been Dhoni’s only appearance at the highest stage since October. And so it was not surprising at all to see him lead Jharkhand in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy to remain in touch ahead of the all-important Champions Trophy. And with Dhoni going the extra mile to remain match-fit, leaving him out of the Deodhar Trophy does not look like a wise decision at all.
Nothing has been heard so far as to why the former skipper was not included in the squads for the 50-over tournament?
One possible reason could be that opted out of the tournament to get refreshed before the Indian Premier League but if the decision has been taken by the selectors then it is very surprising.