Individual preferences should not be criticised, opines MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni, who had earlier come under some criticism for not participating in domestic cricket, has stated that one should not criticise a player’s individual choices. After retiring from the Test format in 2014, Dhoni now represents India only in the T20 and ODI formats of the game.
Last time MS Dhoni played for India was in the series against Windies in the month of October-November early this year. The next series he will play will be in January next year against Australia, more than two months after he last played. Keeping this gap in the mind the Wicket-keeper batsman was criticized for not playing enough domestic cricket to have match practice.
"It is important to safeguard players," Dhoni said on Saturday, reported Cricinfo.
"We have to make the domestic circuit slightly less challenging [in terms of the itinerary] for the individual. Moreover, it is important to be not too critical of T20 cricket and also individual preferences. Individual preferences should not be criticised."
After not being selected for the T20 series against Australia, MS Dhoni has been named in the squad for the upcoming T20 series in New Zealand along with the ODI series keeping in mind the lack of practice for the upcoming Cricket World Cup in England next year. Dhoni had been criticized by Sunil Gavaskar for not enough match time when he had been rested.
"He didn't play the T20Is against Australia, before that he didn't play the West Indies Tests, and then he is not playing the Test series against Australia," Gavaskar said.
"So, he last played in October and will next play in January, which is a huge gap. But if he doesn't do well on tours of Australia and New Zealand, then there will be more questions asked on his place in the World Cup."
Apart from Dhoni, players like Shikhar Dhawan too gave the domestic cricket a miss, Dhawan doing so despite being dropped from the longer format India squad. Recently, Ambati Rayudu decided to retire from the longer format of domestic cricket in order to preserve his body for the shorter format of the game.
"As you grow older and if there is a gap in your cricket, your reflexes will slow down. If you play any form of cricket at the domestic level, you get an opportunity to play long innings, which serves as a good practice for you."
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