Will discuss with Kohli and Shastri before taking call on Dhoni-Yuvraj: MSK Prasad

The Indian ODI team is under strenuous scrutiny as the ICC World Cup 2019 is not too far away. With the emergence of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in the last one year, Team India surely has some promising youngsters in their line-up. The team did well to reach the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy and then win the ODI series by 3-1 in the Caribbean.

‘We will go slot by slot’

The only cause of concern for Kohli is the middle order. In all due respect to Yuvraj and Dhoni, they are not the same finishers anymore, as stated also by former captain Mohammed Azharuddin. Both have been stalwarts of Indian cricket, especially in the limited overs version but their recent form has been a subject of discussion. The chairman of selectors – MSK Prasad – said that a decision on the experienced duo will be taken after discussing it with skipper Kohli and newly appointed head coach: Ravi Shastri.

“We will see, we need to talk on that. We will have to take a decision, let’s see how it goes. We all know who can add value. Again, we will go slot by slot. We should know when to take a call. It’s not that suddenly you take a call and you are nowhere. You can’t be totally unprepared, so we need to be balanced on that aspect,” Prasad told Wisden India.

While Dhoni has been a part of the scheme of things ever since he made his ODI debut in 2004, Yuvraj recently made a comeback to the team after spending more than 3 years in the wilderness. He made a memorable return, making a career best 150 in his second game after coming back into the ODI side. Later to that knock, however, Yuvraj Singh has struggled to get going and has often taken too much time at the start of his innings.

The Author’s take

With a lot of quality batsmen like KL Rahul and Manish Pandey waiting in the wings, India needs to reassess the longevity of Yuvraj Singh, keeping in mind that he will be 37 when the 2019 World Cup gets underway.

MS Dhoni, though, has had a great run this year, scoring 386 runs at 64.33 which include a century and 3 fifties. He plays a pivotal role in the leadership group and is lighting fast behind the stumps beside being one of the fittest cricketers in the Indian team. Dhoni still has a logical chance of carrying on till the end of the 2019 World Cup.