Twitter shell-shocked by MS Dhoni's exclusion from the lineup

The Indian team is currently playing a two-match T20I series versus Ireland at the Malahide Cricket Ground in Dublin. The first match was comprehensively won by the Men in Blue by a massive margin of 76 runs. Their batsmen and bowlers were clinical and brushed aside Gary Wilson’s men in the rather one-sided encounter. The short boundaries and the flat deck ensured the India post a massive score.

Despite the victory, Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, talked about chopping and changing in the T20I format. Moreover, he also mentioned that the players in the squad, who didn’t get an opportunity in the first contest, will get a chance in today’s encounter. Kohli has stuck to his words and made as many as four changes in the playing eleven.

The massive surprise

The major change that sparked was in the form of MS Dhoni who was benched and was replaced by Dinesh Karthik, who didn’t get a chance in the first match. Dhoni didn’t have much to do in the previous match as he batted in the dying stages of the Indian innings. He smacked one four and a six to score 11 runs from five balls. He was dismissed by Peter Chase when he mistimed a pull shot.

It’s a rare occasion when the former Indian skipper had to sit out despite being in the squad. Meanwhile, Karthik would want to make full use of the chance and make a case for himself for the England T20I series which starts a few days after the conclusion of today’s match. Apart from Dhoni, the Indian captain also included KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, and Siddarth Kaul into the eleven.

The trio replaced Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Jasprit Bumrah. Kaul was presented with his maiden international cap. He was rewarded for his stupendous performance for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. For the time being, Twitter is finding it difficult to fathom and analyze the reasons behind Dhoni being left out.

Here is how Twitter reacted