Tendulkar not yet ready to write off MSD’s World Cup chances; says ‘will wait and watch’

As questions were being asked about the form of former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni whose batting strike rate has dwindled in recent times, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar felt that it all depended on Dhoni’s own stand and the plans of the team management.

Speaking to The Mumbai Mirror, Tendulkar said, “World Cup?, Well it is all up to what he (Dhoni) thinks. I don’t know what are the plans of the captain (Virat Kohli) and coach (Ravi Shastri). We are almost a year away for the World Cup, so there is a lot of time.”

Though Dhoni is considered largely to be an automatic choice for the squad that will head to England and Wales in 2019 to play in the quadrennial event, thanks to the sea of experience that he brings with him, his recent batting form has started giving rise to doubts on whether he deserves to be in the England-bound flight next year.

I would just wait and watch

Dhoni’s slow batting in the last two ODIs against England that India lost to squander the 1-0 advantage and lose the series came under sharp criticism. He was also booed but captain Virat Kohli came out to stand by him. The 37-year-old though led the Chennai Super Kings to their third title victory in the Indian Premier League in May with a much better batting performance.

Tendulkar, who played in six world cups between 1992 and 2011, was in no mood to write Dhoni off at this stage though. He further added, “If you have seen the recent three ODIs and Twenty20 International games, there were changes in the team that had nothing to do with the form. There could be a number of challenges for a player – some could be fitness challenges and some could be form challenges. I would just wait and watch.”

Another factor that goes in favour of Dhoni is the lack of a ready replacement in the team. India haven’t been able to nurture new wicket-keeping talents during the Dhoni era, partly because of his overwhelming presence in the team as the keeper, batsman and also a captain and this also seems to secure his place as of now.

The 2011 World Cup-winning captain will have some time to regather himself before playing in another limited-over game for India (since he has retired in Tests) and given the kind of hard-working and talented player he is, the age factor might not at all hinder his selection to the team for the world cup, probably his last since 2007.

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