India Drop MS Dhoni For Australia T20Is

India have dropped MS Dhoni for their upcoming T20I series against Australia, starting on November 21.

Indian selectors have sprung quite a few surprises for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Australia. They have finally dropped veteran wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni who has failed to perform as per his reputation in recent times.

The 37-year old has been facing criticism since the home T20I series against New Zealand last year.

Some handy outings in the South Africa series including his first T20I fifty after playing over a decade helped him ease the burden off himself. It was followed by a stunning outing in the Indian Premier League. He led from the front, as Chennai Super Kings won the title for the third time. The 37-year old enjoyed a stunning season with the bat, amassing 455 runs in 16 games.

But he has struggled with the bat since then.  He had a forgettable tour of England.

In the second ODI, he had walked into bat when India needed 183 in 23 overs. But never during his stay, Dhoni tried to go for the shots. In the end, he was out after scoring 37 off 59 balls, as India were all out for just 236 while chasing 323.

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In fact, his innings was so unusual that the crowd even booed him at one stage which was perhaps the first time the legendary cricketer got booed in his illustrious career.

He struggled in the third ODI too. He managed to score 42 but used up 66 deliveries for the same. What made things even worse was the timing of his dismissal? He was the last recognised batsmen at the crease and just when it looked like he would accelerate, he departed in the 46th over. India eventually managed a modest 256 for eight. In reply, England chased down the total with utmost ease to win the series.

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Everybody had hoped that Dhoni would regain his form once he bats in friendly conditions during the just-concluded Asia Cup 2018. However, those hopes got brutally quashed by the former India skipper. He started the competition with a duck against Hong Kong. It was followed by knocks of 33, 8 and 36.

The selectors have also recalled Washington Sundar.

Sundar, who was the Man of the Tournament in the Nidahas Trophy, was part of India’s T20I squad for the series against Ireland and England.  However, he was ruled out of both the series after injuring his ankle in June on India’s tour of the UK.

India and Australia will compete in three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs. The series will start off with the shortest format, with the first T20I to be played at The Gabba on November 21, 2018.

After the three-match T20I series, the two teams will compete in a four-Test series.

Adelaide opens the Test summer against India on December 6 in a blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The Perth Stadium will host its first Test match when India visit for the second Border-Gavaskar match, before the series moves back to Melbourne and Sydney for the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s games respectively.

Following the Tests, there will be three ODIs. Sydney Cricket Ground will host the first ODI on January 12. The long tour will conclude with the third ODI at MCG on January 18.

India tour of Australia schedule:

T20 series:

November 21 – Australia v India, The Gabba, 1st T20I
November 23 – Australia v India, MCG, 2nd T20I
November 25 – Australia v India, SCG, 3rd T20I

Test series:

December 6-10 – Australia v India, Adelaide Oval, 1st Test
December 14-18 – Australia v India, Perth Stadium, 2nd Test
December 26-30 – Australia v India, MCG, 3rd Test
January 3-7 – Australia v India, SCG, 4th Test

ODI series:

January 12 – Australia v India, SCG, 1st ODI
January 15 – Australia v India, Adelaide Oval, 2nd ODI
January 18 – Australia v India, MCG, 3rd ODI

Indi squad:

Virat Kohli (C), Rohit (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed