MS Dhoni or Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant for West Indies ODIs?
Starting with a slight downcast show against the 'minnows', Hong Kong, India went on to win the next three matches with big margins. While they had an unexpected draw against Afghanistan in the last match of the second round and finally won the title in a nailbiting finish against Bangladesh.
Earlier, before the start of Asia Cup, the selection committee surprised one and all by including two wicket-keepers in the 15-man squad. Though the dilemma was cleared in the very first match as Dinesh Karthik played as a middle-order batsman and regular wicket-keeper MS Dhoni kept the wickets.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni's run in Asia Cup tournament has given rise to some questions. He started with a duck in the first match against Hong Kong and got few more opportunities later, which he failed to convert. While on the other hand, Dinesh Karthik played a few cameos.
Dhoni, as the 'the captain cool', 'dynamic finisher', and a 'quick runner' is known to us from decades, but the current Dhoni isn't the same. He now struggles to rotate strike on regular intervals, while those big shots have also faded.
There is no denying the fact that Dhoni has served Indian cricket for a long time, though cricket is a game that doesn't see past numbers, but the current form.
Recently, a BCCI official in a statement pointed over Dhoni's exclusion from the team by bringing in the youngster, Rishabh Pant.
Who is the right choice for the WI series?
Dinesh Karthik might again play as a middle-order batsman as he hasn't had that bad of a run so far. Now the point of discussion remains between Dhoni and Pant.
Rishabh Pant has shown a lot of promise whenever provided with an opportunity. He did well enough both behind and front of the wickets. Meanwhile, dropping MS Dhoni won't be an easy job as well.
However, as team management is looking to prepare the squad for the World Cup, they might try Rishabh Pant in the West Indies series to see how the youngster responds.
The BCCI is going to announce the squad tomorrow and it would be quite interesting to see who do they end up choosing.