Gavaskar lashes out at Dhoni and Dhawan for skipping Ranji Trophy

Gavaskar lashes out at Dhoni and Dhawan: Former India captain wants ODI specialists to play in the Ranji Trophy.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his odds regarding current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni and opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan over them not playing in the ongoing season of the Ranji Trophy.

While Dhawan has been on a break since the recently concluded T20I series against Australia, Dhoni hasn’t played any form of cricket since the ODI series against West Indies.

Gavaskar feels that the players who are not part of the Test team should play in India’s premier domestic competition in a bid to stay in good form.

Talking specifically about the 37-year old Dhoni, Gavaskar criticized the ‘huge gap’ which will come in between his last and next international assignment. “He [Dhoni] didn’t play the T20Is against Australia, before that he didn’t play the West Indies Tests, and then he is not playing the Test series against Australia.

“So, he last played in October and will next play in January, which is a huge gap. But if he doesn’t do well on tours of Australia and New Zealand, then there will be more questions asked on his place in the World Cup,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying to India Today.

While there isn’t an issue with Dhoni’s fitness, Gavaskar believes that such breaks can ‘slow down’ a 37-year old cricketer’s reflexes. “As you grow older and if there is a gap in your [competitive] cricket, your reflexes will slow down. If you play any form of cricket at the domestic level, you get an opportunity to play long innings, which serves as a good practice for you,” Gavaskar added.

Gavaskar further added that apart from the players, the selectors should also be held responsible for it is their responsibility to not allow players to skip domestic cricket.

“We shouldn’t ask Dhawan and Dhoni ‘why you are not playing domestic cricket’. We should in fact ask the BCCI and selectors that why are they allowing players to skip domestic cricket when they are not on national duty. If the Indian team has to do well, players have to be in prime form and for that they have to play cricket,” Gavaskar concluded.

Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on Dhoni below: