Wasim Akram backs MS Dhoni to play 2019 World Cup

Former India captain MS Dhoni hasn’t been in the best of forms of late and there are questions in the cricketing world on what the future has in store for the veteran. The ace cricketer was recently dropped from India’s T20I squad which made the question even more pertinent. However, a number of former cricketers, both from India and abroad, have backed Dhoni as a must pick for their campaign to win the third World Cup title in 2019.

Dhoni completed his 10,000th ODI run earlier this year but 2018 has been in the middle of his worst run having failed to score even one half-century (his highest score has been 42 not out). The batsman’s scoring rate has also been slow, making him look like a shadow of the brilliant finisher he was once. His shortcomings though have left many discouraged about the prospects of picking him for the World Cup, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram feels Dhoni is still the man.

‘Dhoni still has a lot of cricket in him’

Backing the Ranchi cricketer as a must for the mega event, Akram told IndiaTV: “Of course we would want to see Dhoni in the World Cup, the form is temporary and class is forever. Dhoni is a match winner and I still feel there’s a lot of cricket in him and in England, the team would need Dhoni’s experience.”

Recently, former Indian cricketers VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Murali Kartik also backed Dhoni to feature in the Indian squad. While Laxman said he would like to see Dhoni bat in the World Cup as he did in the last edition of the Indian Premier League, Ganguly said the wicketkeeper-batsman is still capable of hitting the ball into the stands, something he is known for repeating often in the limited-overs but hasn’t done it of late.

Kartik, on the other hand, said more than runs what mattered more is Dhoni as a “complete package”. It was Dhoni who had led India to win their second World Cup title in 2011.

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