ICC World Cup 2019 | It is really unfair that the focus is only on MS Dhoni, feels Sanjay Manjrekar
Getty
Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that MS Dhoni has wrongly been made the scapegoat by the media for the loss against England even though the other under-performers managed to escape criticism. He went on to discuss Dhoni’s role in the team and offered his opinion on Mayank Agarwal’s inclusion.
Too much has been said about ex-skipper MS Dhoni over the past 24 hours after the veteran batsman could not finish off the game - something he has managed to so many times in the past, which some of the fans have taken as an indication that his time in international colours is over. However, former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar holds different opinions.
"It is really unfair that the focus is only on Dhoni because, if, at this stage of his career also, there aren't other batsmen around who can help India win matches then it is not healthy (sign) for Indian cricket,” Manjrekar said defending Dhoni against the flak he is getting for failing to show enough ‘intent’, as reported by Times of India.
While most batsmen seemed to have played their part, KL Rahul got out for a duck while Kedar Jadhav also failed to perform. KL Rahul has scored just 172 runs in six innings at an average of 34 in this World Cup, which Manjrekar fins unsatisfactory for a top order batsman.
“If I am a well-wisher of Indian cricket, I will start putting pressure on Lokesh Rahul and others to start delivering and take the load away from people like Dhoni,” Manjrekar quoted.
However, Manjrekar did not shy away from criticizing Dhoni, admitting he was to be blamed along with the other batsmen.
"Just loved it when Dhoni went into bat in the warm-up matches and got 30 runs off 30 balls and the late flourish came. So I would like the team management to tell him to get a run-a-ball start and see how it goes. If it's 12 for 2, I can understand you need Dhoni's defence. Once he is in, after 22 to 25 overs, he should try to score at run-a-ball," Manjrekar added.
With Vijay Shankar out injured, another batsman has joined India’s ranks in the form of Mayank Agarwal, and if given a chance may solve the team’s problems. Manjrekar certainly seems to believe in the Karnataka batsman.
"With due respect to Vijay Shankar and it is very unfortunate that he got injured, I am delighted that Mayank Agarwal is in the team. I think Mayank is a class player and he made his Test debut in Australia and is a very good addition to the squad in England, the approach to ODis is closer to Test cricket,” he concluded.
