Gavaskar on Dhoni’s form: “MS Dhoni should be playing domestic cricket”

Gavaskar on Dhoni’s form: Sunil Gavaskar had laid emphasis on Dhoni representing his state in the Indian domestic circuit.

Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain and the first batsman to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, has put up a suggestion regarding Dhoni’s indifferent form in international cricket, saying that the 37-year old wicket-keeper batsman should play domestic cricket more often.

In an interview with India Today, Gavaskar was quoted, “Absolutely [when asked if Dhoni should feature in domestic cricket]. MS Dhoni should be playing domestic cricket and should be playing the four-day games as well because his presence there will also help the young Jharkhand players. He will be a great inspiration for them.”

Whenever he is not on national duty, Dhoni represents his state Jharkhand in the domestic limited-overs format. Gavaskar, however, pointed out that he should also feature in the four-day format as it would be beneficial for his overall game.

“In the 50-over game you have limited opportunities but if you play a four-day game it will be great for your stamina, for your feet”, said the 69-year old legend.

Dhoni last played the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2016-17 when he scored 330 runs in eight matches at an average of 66 and a strike rate of 98.80. The last season happened during India’s tour of South Africa earlier this year. Since he has retired from Test cricket, he no longer plays the Ranji Trophy because he has expressed feelings of not wanting to deny a rookie player a spot to represent Jharkhand.

Dhoni has been severely criticized for his batting this year. In the 14 ODIs that he has played this year, he has scored 189 runs at an average of 27 and a strike rate of 70.78. In the ongoing Asia Cup, Dhoni has scored 41 runs in five matches at an average of 13.66 and a strike rate of 71.92.

Paltry numbers such as these are nowhere near to Dhoni’s usual standards. Hence, criticism will continue to happen until and unless he comes up with a substantial performance. India will play Bangladesh in the final of the Asia Cup tomorrow. Dhoni would be looking to achieve a few pending records in the final.

Below are some of the recent Twitter reactions on Dhoni: