Former Pakistan captains Rameez Raja and Shahid Afridi talk about MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni now plays only one format of cricket and it is the 50-overs one. The fast dipping batting form of the man, who was once the best finisher in limited-overs cricket, has found him outside India’s T20I squad of late and his remaining journey in international cricket could lead as much to the World Cup scheduled in England in May-July.

However, former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja feels the 37-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman would be “flabbergasted” to see that all the things he tried in the last 15 years are not working anymore. Recently, Raja spoke with TimesNow along with another former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi over the legacy of Dhoni – India’s most successful captain – his longevity as an international player and also his contribution to Indian cricket.

Though Dhoni’s glovework is still as electrifying, the former India captain has struggled with the bat against all sorts of bowlers, even on placid surfaces in Asia. His slow run rate with the bat has earned him criticism and it seems now that he is playing for a grand farewell on the stage of the World Cup, a title he led India to win eight years ago.

Dhoni had also led India to lift the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 and now he has been omitted from the side for the selectors are now looking ahead to the 2020 edition of the tournament when Dhoni is certainly not expected to be around.

Dhoni was dropped for the T20I series against the Windies at home recently and is also not part of the ongoing T20I series against Australia Down Under. He has been replaced by the 21-year-old Rishabh Pant, a hard-hitting wicket-keeper-batsman who is likely to do the job in all the three formats in the near future.

Nobody has the right to show Dhoni the door

Afridi stood by Dhoni saying nobody has the right to show the Indian cricketer the exit door after what he has done for Indian cricket. He also said that the veteran needs to be there with the Indian team in the World Cup if the side wants to do good.

The veteran will join the Indian squad for the three ODIs in Australia in January.

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