Former Indian explosive opener Virender Sehwag expressed his views about Indian team’s preparation for the 2019 ODI World Cup. He reckons that there is no one at the moment who can replace MS Dhoni in the team. The Indian wicketkeeper has been under pressure as the selectors keep a keen eye on his performance.
Dhoni has answered the criticism with a couple of excellent knocks in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Sehwag hopes that Dhoni stays fit until the next World Cup as Rishabh Pant needs time to groom.
“I don’t think anyone can replace Dhoni at this point of time. Rishabh Pant is good but he would also need time to replace him. But that can only happen after 2019. It’s then when we should think about Dhoni’s replacement. Till then let Pant gain experience,” Virender Sehwag was quoted as saying by PTI.
”We should not worry about whether Dhoni is scoring runs or not. We should only pray that MS Dhoni is fit till 2019 World Cup. The experience that he has in the middle and the lower middle order, no one has that,” he added.
”Like life, the beauty of sports is that no two periods are identical. You will have to deal with it. There are days when you make runs and there will be a dry spell. Like in business, every year you don’t make profits,” Sehwag added.
On KL Rahul taking up the role of a wicketkeeper, he said, ”I would never want a guy, who is not a natural ‘keeper. It’s not keeping 20 overs in Indian Premier League. During a 50-over match, one missed stumping or missed catch can change the course of the match. It’s not a risk worth taking.”
On Ashwin’s break
Ravichandran Ashwin has been rested from the ODI and T20I series after his extended run in Test cricket. He bowled a handful of overs in the long home season and then in the Sri Lanka test series.
“I thought that he was being given a break as he has bowled a lot in the Test series. Ideally, he should have been given rest but then it’s a decision that Ashwin and team management needed to take. I don’t know what’s in their minds. May be they are focussing on winning the Test series in England next year and if that’s the case, then so be it,” he concluded.
