Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Colombo, September 2
The mighty must fall, too — that’s the unchangeable rule of sport. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a god, multiple title-winner for India, leader of the team to world No. 1 ranking in Tests, a mastermind of the cricket’s strategies. Now he’s in the last lap of his remarkable career. He’s not hitting the ball out of the park at will, but he’s still a very, very useful cricketer. We’ve had several reminders of that in the ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Dhoni has made 161 runs in the three innings he’s played, without getting dismissed once, with a scoring rate of 82.14. He walked in at 118/3 in the second ODI and made an unbeaten 45 to help India to victory. In the third ODI, he came in at 61/4 and made 67 not out as India, once again, overhauled a low Sri Lanka score.
Then, in the fourth ODI, he came in with India placed in a happier situation — India at 274/5 batting first, with over 12 overs available. This time Dhoni was quicker in his scoring, with 49 off 42 balls. India ended up 375/5, good enough for another crushing victory. And Dhoni ended up unbeaten once again.
In India’s plans
Dhoni is no more the best finisher in the game, but he’s still a very handy batsman. There have been doubts over how long could he play for India, but his three innings here have silenced the doubters.
Head coach Ravi Shastri also dispelled doubts about Dhoni’s future, stating that the stalwart is not even “half finished yet” and is very much in the scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup in England.
Shastri said that India is set on the path of experimentation and rotation ahead of the 2019 World Cup but the 36-year-old Dhoni remains firmly in their plans. “MS Dhoni is a massive influence on the team. He is a living legend in the dressing room and an ornament to the game. By no means or by any stretch of imagination is he finished or even half finished yet,” Shastri said.
“If anyone thinks so, they are mistaken and they have another one coming. They are in for some surprises. The old dog has plenty to offer,” he said.
Dhoni remains the best wicketkeeper in the country by some distance, said the head coach. Shastri underlined that experimentation and rotation will be the key going forward as India will play in excess of 40 limited-overs matches before the next World Cup.
“ODIs are where we will experiment. So that when we have 12-15 months to go for the World Cup, we have a nucleus of about 18-20 players in place. And we can then choose from this group just before the World Cup begins,” he said.
Fitness paramount
Shastri further said no compromise will be made on fitness. “We want the best fielding side on the park. That’s it,” he said. When pointedly asked if fitness parameters could see big names as Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina dropped from World Cup plans, the coach nodded in agreement and said,
“Yes. When there are parameters put in place, and that’s the vision of the team, then everyone has to fit into those parameters. It is as simple as that.”
Tests ahead
Shastri has his sights firmly on the overseas schedule coming up. “While there is a lot of limited-overs cricket to be played in the next two years, at the same time, don’t forget, there is a heck of a lot of Test cricket as well,” said Shastri.
He believes that the team has the potential to win all around the world. “If you look at world cricket today, there is not one team in the world that travels well. Not a single one, but India can be that team. And we are already doing it bit by bit. If you look at last three years, we have won the ODI series in England in 2014. We whitewashed Australia (3-0 in the T20 series in 2016). I don’t even remember which team has ever done that in Australia. We have won back-to-back series here in Sri Lanka. We won the Asia Cup last year. So this young side has already had a lot of firsts overseas.
