MS Dhoni’s slow scoring-rate at times has divided opinions but his former India team-mate Yuvraj Singh is in no doubt that the veteran wicketkeeper will be key for the team in the 2019 ICC World Cup.
Yuvraj, who was awarded the player of the tournament when India lifted the 2011 World Cup, believes his former skipper’s cricketing brain is vital to the side’s ODI setup.
“I think Mahi (Dhoni) has a great cricket brain,” Yuvraj was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI).
“As a wicket-keeper, you are in the best position to monitor the game and he has done that fantastically over the years. He has been a great captain. (He’s) with the young players and guiding Virat Kohli all the time.
“I feel his presence is very important in decision-making. He had a fantastic tournament in Australia, and it is good to see him hit the ball how he used to do. I wish him all the best.”
Dhoni hit the winning six for India in the 2011 World Cup on home soil.
Dhoni had struggled with the bat in 2018 where he failed to muster a single half-century in the 50-over format. With the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant knocking on the door, questions were being raised over Dhoni’s place in the ODI side.
However, the veteran bounced back in style in 2019 with a man-of-the-series performance in the India’s ODI series win in Australia where he registered three half-centuries in as many matches.
The 37-year-old now seems a certainty to take the gloves for India in the 2019 World Cup in England which gets underway at the end of May this year.
