Sabyasachi Bagchi, Kolkata: It’s been almost eight months that Mahendra Singh Dhoni had stepped down from the post of India’s limited overs captaincy. After that many cricket pundits have said that he has lost his old touch as a finisher and the team management should give a chance to young Rishabh Pant in place of Dhoni ahead of the 2019 World Cup. But proving everyone wrong Dhoni played some match winning innings for the side against Sri Lanka in the ongoing five-match ODI series. He is showing everyone that though he had already passed the baton to his successor Virat Kohli, he is still the leader of the side. After leaving the skipper’s role he is playing more freely and his game is still improving day by day. Whenever the side looks in danger Kohli always goes to Dhoni for a solution. The Jharkhand maestro always guides youngsters like Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav and others in pressure situations and his presence in the field always gives an extra boost to the Men in Blue.
At the age 36 Dhoni is still fit and his dedication for the game is just incredible. Legendary Indian cricketer and former selection committee Chief Dilip Vengsarkar was in all praise for the former India skipper.” I was the selection committee chairman in the year 2007 when Dhoni became the Captain of the ODI side for the first time in Australia during the CB Series and it was his first overseas tour as a captain too. Just ahead of that Anil Kumble led Indian Test team lost the Test series against the Aussies. We were selecting the squad for the ODI series via teleconference and suddenly at the start of the meeting Dhoni told us that he want to play the series with a young squad and a few senior players should be dropped from the squad as they don’t fit in the team anymore. At first we all were shocked after listening to this. But he said it’s not about the run scoring ability of those players, they are really very slow in the field and with that age they can’t give their 100 percent in the huge grounds of Australia. Dhoni further said that we should build a squad looking forward to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011,” said Vengsarkar while talking to www.xtratime.in correspondent Sabyasachi Bagchi.
Vengsarkar lauded Dhoni for keeping himself fit like a young kid at the age of 36.” Whenever I get a chance to see Dhoni playing on the field, I always remember his word that we should give more chances to the fit players. At the age of 36, he still looks like a young kid and nobody can say that he is unfit to play for the side. This is the difference between the other players and Dhoni and according to me he can easily play for India until 2019,” added Vengsarkar.
Former Indian wicketkeeper batsman Deep Dasgupta said,” Being a commentator I have been watching him very closely after he left the top job. His match reading has always been great but his anticipation level is still growing day by day. He has a phenomenal record on Decision Review System. He is the best wicketkeeper in the world who has anticipated the DRS most successfully. Though at one stage of his career he was strongly against DRS. Everyone is talking about Dhoni’s DRS review during India’s last encounter with Sri Lanka, but I want to tell you about two incidents. India was playing a ODI game at Cuttack against England last year. Yuvraj Singh was batting at the crease on 146 and Dhoni was batting on 90 on the other end. Yuvraj nicked an out swinger of Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler took the catch with one hand. Yuvraj didn’t understand that it was a bump ball but from the non striker’s end Dhoni told umpire Anil Chowdhury that the ball was bounced before it went in Buttler’s hand. Yuvraj almost left the field by thinking that he was out, but the umpires told that Dhoni was right and Yuvi was not out. In another match against England at Pune, Eoin Morgan nicked a delivery of Hardik Pandya. Pandya and Kohli both didn’t understand that Morgan had nicked the ball, but after taking the catch Dhoni told Kohli that he had heard something and immediately Kohli asked for a review and the third umpire gave the decision in favour of India and this shows his involvement to the game.”