MS Dhoni Thinks For Indian Cricket: Virat Kohli

MS Dhoni has not played an international or even a competitive game since India’s loss in the World Cup semifinal. Soon after the conclusion of the tournament, he took a two-month sabbatical from the game. Consequently, the former India skipper missed the tour of West Indies. He then made himself unavailable for the upcoming series against South Africa too.

But despite Dhoni remaining away from all the action, he is firmly in news. The Indian cricketing fraternity is pretty much busy speculating about his future. Thus when skipper Virat Kohli came out to address the media ahead of the first T20I against South Africa, he was bombarded with questions about his illustrious predecessor.

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And as usual, Kohli was all praise for the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman. The India skipper lauded Dhoni, saying that the 37-year old ‘always thinks about Indian cricket and there is no replacement for experience’.

“Experience is always going to matter whether you like it or not. Many players have proven in the past that age is just a number and even Dhoni has done that a lot in his career. One thing great about him is that he thinks for Indian cricket. When to stop playing cricket, is completely an individual decision. No one should give opinions regarding the matter,” Kohli told reporters.

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Earlier this week, Kohli got a pavilion named after him at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. In a star-studded ceremony, Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium was named after late finance minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

“Initially it was hard to believe. It is a very gracious gesture. You do not think about that as a cricketer, but for someone to give you that honour, it feels special,” Kohli stated.

The focus then shifted towards the immediate assignment at hand – the series against the Proteas. Kohli said that the side wanted to give opportunities to players who have been performing well in the domestic circuit for the past two to three years. He also said that the team has the roadmap for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

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“We wanted to give opportunities to players who have done well for the past two years in the domestic circuit and T20 cricket in the IPL. It is about finding the best possible balance we can for the side and not necessarily stick to one particular type of balance. If other teams can bat till number nine, so why cannot we? Whatever decisions are made, they are made looking at the future,” Kohli added.

“The first two to three T20I series will help us assess every situation. Definitely the roadmap for T20 World Cup in 2020 is on our mind. It is an exciting prospect looking at the new bunch of guys in our lineup,” he further said.

The first T20I against South Africa will get underway on September 15 in Dharamsala.