India lost four wickets inside the first-10 overs of the game, but MS Dhoni wasn't sent to bat.
India faced a huge setback in their 240-run chase in the first semifinal of the 2019 World Cup against New Zealand.
The side lost Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul within a total of five runs on the board. In the final delivery of the 10th over, India also lost Dinesh Karthik.
However, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni wasn’t sent to bat, which raised a few eyebrows among the experts and fans alike.
Dhoni has been criticized for his slow batting of late, but many believe that he would’ve been the perfect option to weather the storm after successive setbacks to the side.
Sourav Ganguly, who has been on commentary duty for the game, also slammed MS Dhoni for his absence.
“Why no MS Dhoni? It’s unexplicable. He’s not out yet when India are under pressure. That’s not acceptable,” Ganguly said on-air.
Harsha Bhogle also took to Twitter to question his absence.
Dhoni? Injured? Should be here otherwise.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 10, 2019
Sanjay Manjrekar, however, argued that Virat Kohli's tendency to attack may have led to him sending Karthik, and then Pandya, ahead of MS Dhoni.
Ok let me try & guess why Virat has sent Hardik ahead of Dhoni. Given a choice between attack & defence, Virat will always choose attack to get out of a tight spot. Hence Pandya ahead of Dhoni. #ICCCWC2019
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 10, 2019