Unfit MS Dhoni misses 4th ODI: The Indian wicket-keeper batsman failed to recover from his injury ahead of the fourth ODI.
Advertisement
Former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni had sustained a hamstring strain which forced him to sit out of the third ODI against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui.
In what came as an uncalled for update for the Indian team was regarding the recovery of the 37-year old cricketer. At the toss, stand-in India captain Rohit Sharma made it clear that Dhoni has still not recovered and will continue to sit out from the fourth ODI as well. “MS Dhoni is still not fit,” Sharma was quoted as saying.
India playing an ODI without both Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in the playing XI: (Since 2008)
vs New Zealand, Today
3 ODIs vs Zimbabwe, 2015 (Big players rested)
3 ODIs vs Bangladesh, 2014 (Big players rested)
vs Sri Lanka, 2009 (Dhoni banned due to slow-over rate)#NZvIND— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) January 31, 2019
Highest batting average in successful chases in ODI cricket: (Men/Women)
111.29 – MITHALI RAJ
103.07 – MS Dhoni
96.23 – Virat Kohli#NZWvINDW— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) January 29, 2019
After the official Twitter account of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) had posted a photo of Dhoni batting in the nets yesterday, it was assumed that he would play today. While the team management and Dhoni’s plentiful fans would have hoped for the same, it didn’t happen eventually.
Coming on the back of a worst year (in terms of number of runs scored) in ODIs, Dhoni turned the tables this year after winning the ‘Man of the series’ trophy in the ODI series against Australia.
Hello @TataSky
Please bring back the option where one could mute the commentators and listen to the stump mics. We want to hear the boss talk. Genius planning by #Dhoni #INDvsNZ— Bhuvan Bam (@Bhuvan_Bam) January 26, 2019
#NZvIND
Playing XI
No DhoniGill Makes It To The 11 , Received His Cap From #MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/f5dGW3PAng
— Sujoy Barg (@SujoyBarg07) January 31, 2019
The fact that India will be playing the rest of this tour without regular captain Virat Kohli is likely to make Dhoni’s absence be felt to a large extent. In the absence of two biggest contemporary names of the Indian cricket, the onus will undoubtedly shift on their replacements.
As far as the series is concerned, India have already gained an unassailable 3-0 lead. However, with only seven ODIs remaining before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, they would be eager to not lose the winning momentum, especially in overseas conditions.
