The team can't depend on MS Dhoni to finish, opines Anil Kumble

It is a popular argument these days that the good old days of MS Dhoni – The finisher are over and one of the main reasons why he’s still continuing is due to his terrestrial skills behind the stumps. Another legendary cricketer who voiced the same opinion is former Indian captain Anil Kumble, who reckons younger players should take the responsibility to finish the games.

His consistent poor run with the willow has been a major concern for the Indian management and Kumble reckons he should be left to enjoy the game with the youngsters taking the mantle on themselves. He added that the middle order doesn’t have a settled look and they cannot depend completely on Dhoni for the runs at the end.

“The Indian middle-order still does not have a settled look and the team can’t keep depending on Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be the finisher. He should be left to enjoy the game and engage with younger players to finish games,” Kumble said as quoted by Sportstar.

Dhoni completes 800 dismissals in International cricket

MS Dhoni had a pretty mediocre outing in the Asia Cup 2018 with the bat, but he was exceptional behind the stumps. He also completed 800 dismissals in International cricket in the final of the Asia Cup, only the third person to achieve the feat after Mark Boucher (998 dismissals) and Adam Gilchrist (905 dismissals).

Although the popular opinion is that he might not have enough time to catch up or eclipse Adam Gilchrist’s tally, the former Indian captain is known to throw a surprise or two at regular intervals and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue for another couple of years.

With Rishabh Pant taking over the keeping responsibilities in Tests, the pressure is increasing on the selectors to look for alternatives for the 37-year-old in the limited overs as well. One of the major reasons why they are not looking beyond Dhoni is the ICC World Cup, which is less than a year away from commencement and such a drastic change would disrupt the team’s momentum.

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