Indian cricket team is currently playing undisputed under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and Coach Ravi Shastri. The team is currently busy in home tour against Australia, Sri Lanka and followed by flying to South Africa and England. Virat Kohli and Co are giving their best in all formats of the game and it has become a tough job for the selectors to pick the 15-man squad for a particular series.
Meanwhile, Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has expressed his views over being selected in 2019 World Cup team. Saha said, in fact, it’s his wife Romi who wishes to see him play in the World Cup. “My wife badly wants me to play in the World Cup. She insists that I must push harder to achieve that. I am also trying, but ultimately the decision lies with the selectors,” Saha, who will turn 33 next month, said.
This statement made MS Dhoni fans furious and started firing on Saha. People started trolling Saha by commenting that Saha is way far from Dhoni in both batting and wicketkeeping. Saha just played 9 ODIs and scored 41 runs with an average of 13.66. Dhoni fans questioned him that he can’t even score a fifty in his 9 ODI appearances and how can he compete with MS Dhoni for World Cup 2019.
Dhoni fans questioned him that he can’t even score a fifty in his 9 ODI appearances and how can he compete with MS Dhoni for World Cup 2019. However, the current Indian Coach Ravi Shastri came forward to put all rumors surrounding the future of MS Dhoni to rest by confirming a place for the veteran wicket-keeper batsman in the team’s squad for the 2019 World Cup.
Over the years, we have seen Dhoni work very hard on his skills behind the stumps and outfox the opposition batters with his unorthodox moves. Escaping from MS Dhoni’s lightning fast activity behind the stumps is a very rare stuff. It is almost impossible for any batsmen in the world. We all know his batting and finishing the match in his style. Dhoni was in top form in Sri Lanka, having scored 162 runs with a strike-rate of 82.23.
Dhoni has recently joined the 300 ODI club after playing in the 4th ODI against Sri Lanka, and he also clinched an exclusive record by bagging 100 stumpings as a wicket keeper. As of now, Dhoni is the only player who reached 100 stumpings in ODIs, earlier Sangakkara held the record with 99 in his kitty. Thus, Shastri asserted that Dhoni has both fitness and current form on his side and that the team will need him in the next ODI World Cup in 2019.
Shastri compared Dhoni with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kapil Dev and said his achievements need to be respected. “Where else will you find a legend like M.S. Dhoni? Dhoni is in the same league as Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar or Kapil Dev. We have to respect his achievements,” Shastri told.
The 55-year-old Shastri added that Dhoni remains the best wicket-keeper in India in ODIs. “A player is evaluated on the basis of his current form and fitness and Dhoni has both. If you see his wicketkeeping, he is the best in ODI cricket. His fitness is superb, he batted well in Sri Lanka. And let me tell you, it was just a trailer what you saw in Sri Lanka now wait for the movie,” he said.
“If he continues to play like this, there is no question of not having him in the team for the 2019 world cup. You can’t even think of a team without Dhoni,” he said. On inclusion of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, Shastri said: “Doors are not closed. They will be inducted only after they are declared fit. I have a problem. The amount of cricket that we are playing, we need at least 20 to 25 players. It is very difficult for a single player to play all forms of cricket. Players need rest,” Shastri said.
“An aggressive Virat is good for the team. Virat does not like people who do not speak straight. Virat is now fully mature. In cricket, you need to understand your rival team properly, Virat has learned much and is going to learn more in the next 3-4 years,” Shastri made it clear that he had no say in team selection.
“I never interfere in selection. I will prepare the team that I get. In the recent Sri Lanka series, we created history, we have to make a new beginning against Australia. If the kangaroos speak loudly, they will get an effective response from us. We have to win the first two matches. These will decide the fate of the series. Australia will get a tough challenge. Our bowling attack is strong,” concluded Ravi Shastri.
Must Read: Dhoni Fans Got Furious After Saha Making Statements On Being Placed In 2019 World Cup