Dhoni is the 'main problem', says Dean Jones on India's batting combination
What's the story?
Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni recently finished the historical Australia tour on a strong note. The right-handed batsman helped India triumph the ODI series by 2-1, earning him the Man of the Series award.
However, former Australian cricketer, Dean Jones seems to be unimpressed with the ageing Dhoni when it comes to Indias batting composition. In a column for The Times of India, Jones termed MS as the 'main problem' with regards to how India would fit young Rishabh Pant in the limited-overs team.
In case you didn't know
Dhoni started the three-match ODI series against Australia with a half-century at Sydney. However, the knock came under the scanner as it took the veteran 96 balls to score 51 runs in the match. Several termed his 'slow' knock the reason behind India'a defeat in the first match.
Though, he bounced back strongly in the rest of two matches, scoring unbeaten 55 and 87 runs respectively.
Heart of the matter
Having been impressed by India's young wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant in the Test series, Jones said that MS Dhoni remains the main problem for how India would fit Pant in the side,
“The main ‘problem’ is Dhoni. He’s back in this team and the question is will India, if push comes to shove, play Rishabh Pant as just a batsman?,” Jones wrote in his column for TOI.
“India couldn’t be having a better journey for their World Cup campaign than what they are having now and they have got to make sure they finish off New Zealand as well. What would be the worst thing to ruin this would be to go out against the Black Caps and drop their guard.” He added.
Jones also compared current Indian cricket team to the dominating West Indies of the 1980s and early 1990s.
“India now are no different to what the West Indies were in the eighties and early nineties. They have got to maintain the reputation that they can win in anyone’s backyard now and must not take the foot off the pedal. The Windies were brilliant at it and had that “scare factor”, which is what India have now. That’s huge going into the World Cup,” Jones wrote.
What's next?
India next plays New Zealand for a T20I and ODI series. The Kohli's men would look to continue their dominance to boost their chances ahead of World Cup.