TIL Desk Sports/ Fitter and faster than players 10 years his junior, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is irreplaceable in the Indian ODI team right now, feels national coach Ravi Shastri, who says critics should perhaps analyse their own careers at 36 before finding faults in the former captain.
Dhoni’s form with the bat has been heavily scrutinised in the recent past with every failure being looked upon as an ominous sign. However, the talismanic keeper-batsman did well in the just-concluded limited overs series against Sri Lanka to silence some of the criticism.
“We are not stupid. I have been watching this sport for the last 30-40 years. Virat has been a part of this team for a decade now. We know, at this age, he (Dhoni) can beat players aged 26. People who talk, forget that they played the game,” Shastri told.
Dhoni’s sharp reflexes behind the stumps are still unmatched and chief selector MSK Prasad made it clear that none of the younger guys have quite yet matched upto the game-changer, under whose leadership India won an unprecedented two World Cups. The sentiment was echoed by Shastri, who has been vocal in defending Dhoni in the past as well.
