Though no replacement has been named for Dhoni, India have Rishabh Pant in the squad. (PTI Photo)MS Dhoni will be rested for the final two ODIs against Australia, assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said at the post-match press conference. “He’s taking rest after this, so he won’t play. So there will be (a) place left vacant by him. Shami also had a hit on the leg. We have to see whether he will be fit for the game. If he is not fit then Bhuvneshwar Kumar will play.”
Though no replacement has been named for Dhoni, India have Rishabh Pant in the squad, Chief selector MSK Prasad had earlier spoken about Pant being in the World Cup scheme. The southpaw played three home ODIs against West Indies in the autumn last year. But he wasn’t part of the 50-overs squad in the away series in Australia and New Zealand. The last two ODIs here will give him the opportunity to prove his World Cup mettle.
As for Dhoni, the Ranchi game could well have been his last international fixture in India, should he decide to retire after the World Cup. Dhoni started off the ongoing series with a match-winning 59 not out in Hyderabad. At Nagpur, he had a first-ball duck. In his hometown, coming at No. 5, he was building his innings. A couple of fours off Jhye Richardson improved his strike-rate. A six against Nathan Lyon saw the fans at the JSCA Stadium go wild. But an Adam Zampa top-spinner breached his defence, as Dhoni tried to hit it down the ground. He left to a stunned silence. Earlier, his backhand flick, on a heels of an electric piece of fielding from Ravi Jadeja, which caught Glenn Maxwell short of his ground, further attested his value as the wicketkeeper.
Bangar, meanwhile, also spoke about Dhawan’s form slump and Ambati Rayudu. “In New Zealand, Dhawan had two good innings. He remained not out in one, scoring 75-odd. Even if you see here, he has got good starts. In the previous game, he was batting really well till he erred in shot selection, but in our point of view, he has been an important player and if we know that he gets going, he can give us that solidity, as it is vital to have that right-left combination going. He is a hugely valuable player for us and he is expected to come good very soon,” Bangar said about the opener.
About Rayudu, he observed: “These games are valuable opportunities for all the players concerned and even for us, so that the players are at their utmost best when we go into the World Cup. Don’t forget that in the last game in New Zealand, he scored a match-winning 90. But the ball that he got, could have gotten out any batsmen with that pace and low bounce.”
