3 Reasons Why MS Dhoni Should Be Dropped If He Fails Against Australia

The performance in the recently-concluded series against Sri Lanka will be a big respite for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The former India captain had entered the series under extreme pressure with not only the critics taking a shot at him but also the chief selector MSK Prasad making it clear that time was running out for the out-of-form wicketkeeper-batsman as he claimed that Dhoni was no more a guaranteed starter in the team.

However, the World Cup-winning captain has managed to buy some more time for him with a good outing in the island nation. Dhoni remained not out throughout the series and scored 162 runs in 4 outings including a half-century. But while Dhoni has managed to silence his critics for the time being, one should not ignore the fact that his performance has come against a struggling Sri Lankan side and that he looked off-colour for a good period of time prior to the Sri Lanka series.

Dhoni had a pretty indifferent outing in 2016 as he managed to score only 278 runs in 13 matches at an average of 27.80. The 36-year old began 2017 with a stupendous 134-run knock against England but failed to replicate the same performance thereafter.  His struggle during the West Indies series when he took 108 balls to score 54 runs totally proved that he is far from his best at the time being.

The upcoming series against Australia will be litmus test for Dhoni and in case he fails to perform well, the selectors should look out for alternatives. As of now, the possibility of replacing Dhoni will look absurd since he just performed well against Sri Lanka but the selectors need to make some tough calls for the future.

So here we are looking at three 3 reasons that should justify his ouster from the team post the failure against Australia:

3. Next World Cup:

With the next World Cup less than two years away, the team will be keen to have a settled and solid unit. In that case, if Dhoni fails to deliver, the newcomer should get enough time to settle down in the team and so the team management should take a call as soon as possible.

2. Dhoni’s diminishing finishing abilities:

A batsman who made a reputation for himself due to his finishing abilities, Dhoni is now looking like a pale shadow of his former self. Moreover, with the team sending him at number 6, his struggles to score at a fast-rate is costing the team some important runs.

1. Rishabh Pant’s emergence:

Considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, Rishabh Pant ash already proved his mettle with some head-turning performance in the last couple of years.

The 19-year old, who made his international debut earlier this year in the T20I against England, got just one more T20I against West Indies last month before being dropped for the Sri Lanka series.  However, his performance in the last year’s Ranji Trophy and this year’s IPL showed that he has it in him to excel at the highest stage of the game.

The hard-hitting batsman finished the last edition of Ranji Trophy with a staggering 972 runs in only eight outings including four centuries and a couple of the fifties. He followed the successful domestic season with a good outing in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils, scoring 366 runs in 14 games.