Sri Lanka Vs India 2017: MS Dhoni Takes Bowlers To The Cleaners In Nets Ahead Of First ODI

The spotlight will be firmly focused on Mahendra Singh Dhoni when Team India takes the field in the first One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Dambulla on Sunday (August 20). The 36-year old has been under pressure to deliver with the bat for quite some time now and another failure can certainly prove fatal for his career which is in its last stage.

After a modest 2016 where he managed to score only 278 runs in 13 matches at an average of 27.80, the World Cup-winning captain 2017 with a stupendous 134-run knock against England but has not managed to replicate the same performance thereafter.  He had scored a match-winning half-century in the third ODI against West Indies in July but was severely criticised for his 114-ball 54 runs knock in the fourth game as India lost that game by 11 runs while chasing a modest target of 190.

Recently, chief selector MSK Prasad made it clear that Dhoni is not an automatic choice in the team right now and failure from the wicketkeeper would force the selectors to look out for other alternatives.

“Discussions happen about everybody. It is not just MS Dhoni (or anybody else). When we pick, when we talk about combinations, we talk about everybody. Whenever a player keeps ageing, for example, I was just reading Agassi’s book, Open, his life actually started after 30 years. Till then he won two or three titles. His actual life started after that. He lived with media pressure, ‘When are you going to retire?’,” Prasad had said.

“But he played till 36 and he won so many Grand Slams. So you never know. If he (Dhoni) is delivering, why not? If he is not, we will have to look at alternatives,” he had added.

Dhoni makes intentions clear in nets:

Well, Dhoni is definitely not the one who will sit idly and accept the criticism as the Indian star along with his teammates sweated it out in the practise session before the first ODI. He joined the team a few days ago after the Test series and looked in good touch during the nets as he took the bowlers to the cleaners.

Not only the local bowlers but also the Indian bowlers faced the wrath of Dhoni as he geared up for the series-opener in style. The last time Dhoni played against Sri Lanka, he had scored a vital half-century to help India cross the 300-run mark against the islanders in the Champions Trophy and would definitely look to replicate that performance.