Kumble on Dhoni’s form: “Team can’t keep depending on Dhoni to be the finisher”

Dixit Bhargav | 03/10/2018
Kumble on Dhoni's form

Kumble on Dhoni’s form: Anil Kumble wants the Indian team to prepare other players for the finisher’s role in ODIs.

MS Dhoni, former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman, has failed to stand tall on the reputations bestowed upon him in both the ODIs and T20Is in the recent times.

There is no hiding to the fact that Dhoni is past his peak time as a cricketer. That being said, his current returns portray a very contrasting image of his. In the six matches that he 37-year old played in the recently concluded Asia Cup, he has scored 77 runs at an average of 19.25 and a strike rate of 62.09.

In 2018, Dhoni has played 15 ODIs, scoring 225 runs at an average of 28.12 and a strike rate of 67.36. His last half-century for India had come almost 10 months ago against Sri Lanka at Dharamsala.

The above numbers are not the ones which you would associate with someone of Dhoni’s stature. It is this form of his which has brought him a plentiful of criticism from former cricketers and fans.

The latest former cricketer to speak on Dhoni’s form is Dhoni’s predecessor in Test cricket in Anil Kumble. In an interview with Sportstar, Kumble warned the Indian team in terms of depending too much on Dhoni for the finisher’s role. “The Indian middle-order still does not have a settled look and the team can’t keep depending on Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be the finisher. He should be left to enjoy the game and engage with younger players to finish games,” Kumble was quoted.

One of the major reasons why Dhoni hasn’t been dropped as yet is his importance on the field to the whole team. Given his experience, Dhoni is still a vital member when it comes to decision-making in the Indian team. Dhoni’s next assignment will be a five-match ODI series against West Indies later this month.

In the same interview, Kumble also made public his favourite Indian captain. Having played under the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, Kumble named Mohammad Azharuddin as his favourite captain. Kumble had made both his Test and ODI under Azharuddin in 1990.

Furthermore, Kumble added that his wife is a huge fan of Dhoni. Kumble revealed that she never fails to click a picture with India’s most successful skipper whenever she meets him. “She always takes a picture with him when we meet,” he further said.

Below are some of the latest Twitter reactions on Dhoni:

 

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Anil Kumble MS Dhoni

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Don’t miss these