India can’t look beyond a fit MS Dhoni: Wasim Jaffer

MS Dhoni is no spring chicken as he is set to complete 39 years in July 2020. However, his zeal to thrive hasn’t died down by any stretch of the imagination. It was seen during Chennai Super Kings’ practice session for Indian Premier League 2020 where he smashed a blazing century. The keeper hasn’t played any competitive cricket ever since the 2019 World Cup semi-final.

There he was ran out by Martin Guptill and that was the last time Dhoni donned the India colours. India lost the game and bowed out of the World Cup. From there onwards, talks of him retiring from cricket have been doing the rounds. Most of the experts in the cricket field have had their say on what Dhoni should do. Even his childhood coach and parents have had their opinions.

The fans are now waiting for their favourite son to take the field in the IPL, which has come under the clouds courtesy the coronavirus pandemic. As far as Dhoni’s return to the national team is concerned, there’s no concrete news on it. Previously, MSK Prasad, the former chief selector, said that the team had decided to look beyond Dhoni and groom Rishabh Pant.

Jaffer backs Dhoni

However, Pant and even Sanju Samson, the two specialist keepers, are yet to make a significant impact at the highest level. Nevertheless, KL Rahul has excelled both as a keeper and a batsman, and has cemented his spot in the limited-overs team. In the meantime, Wasim Jaffer, who recently hung his boots from all forms of cricket, felt that India can’t afford to look beyond a fit Dhoni.

As per Jaffer, the leading run-scorer in Ranji Trophy cricket, Dhoni’s keeping skills are unmatched. Jaffer reckons that Dhoni’s keeping will take the pressure from Rahul, who can solely focus on his batting.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “If Dhoni is fit and in form I think we can’t look beyond him as he’ll be an asset behind the stumps and also lower down the order. It’ll take the pressure of keeping off Rahul and India can play Pant as a batsman too if they want a lefty. #Dhoni #MSDhoni #IPL2020,”

Here is Jaffer’s tweet

If Dhoni is fit and in form I think we can't look beyond him as he'll be an asset behind the stumps and also lower down the order. It'll take the pressure of keeping off Rahul and India can play Pant as a batsman too if they want a lefty. #Dhoni #MSDhoni #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/6ndDfdhkap

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 18, 2020