Kirmani said that Dhoni”s decision to quit from tests wasn”t a good call way back in 2014. It is to be noted that Dhoni retired from the longer format of the game in the mid of test series against Australia.
The wicket-keeping duties were handed over to Saha and it was too long until the little man filled in the boots of MSD with his skills behind the wickets and not to forget his valuable contributions in the middle.
“I still feel Dhoni didn”t do the right thing by retiring from Tests. Virat still needs his guidance and also the next batch could have learned more about the rigors of Test cricket from him. But as far as ODIs and T20s are concerned, my choice is Dinesh Karthik. He is a fantastic batsman, a safe wicketkeeper, and a very good outfielder. He is an all-rounder for me,” Kirmani told PTI.
Rishabh Pant wasn”t able to make an impact in the International arena till now. Though he had been performing well in the domestic formats and the IPL, he didn”t look threatening yet. He was retained by the DD franchise for this edition and is expected to come to all guns blazing against the opponents.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik will now lead KKR in the IPL 2019 and expected to play an integral part in leading the team that includes the young U19 faces. He has been given this duty after his impeccable win percentage of 72% in the T20 formats. He has been a permanent member of the squad in the limited overs for quite some time now.
Kirmani also lashed out at the critics and the fans who have been doubting Dhoni”s finishing skills. “Show me, one Indian batsman, apart from skipper Virat Kohli, who has shown amazing consistency for a period of five years now. I don”t think there is anyone. Virat is in a different league. So why only pinpoint Dhoni? Don”t forget, he has given results for nearly 15 years now. He is still an asset to the team,” Kirmani concluded.
MS Dhoni is now just a few runs behind 10k mark in the ODI”s and is expected to reach this number in the ODI series against England later this year.
