MS Dhoni is still No.1 wicketkeeper, should not be sidelined in a hurry: Mohammed Kaif

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that MS Dhoni is amazingly fit and should not be sidelined in a hurry as he is still India’s No.1 wicketkeeper batsman. Kaif also said KL Rahul should only be used as a backup wicketkeeper so that workload on the player can be managed.

MS Dhoni has not played international cricket since the 2019 World Cup in England. The World Cup-winner has kept mum about his international future but was keen on playing the Indian Premier League.

With the team management, including head coach Ravi Shastri, not ruling out chances of his comeback, the IPL 2020 was looked at as a possible platform for Dhoni to launch his comeback. However, the uncertainty over IPL 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic has raised doubts over Dhoni’s return to the senior national team.

“People think that there is a gap and had he played in the IPL it would have been easier for him to make a comeback. But I don’t think so. Dhoni is such a big player, he is a proper match-winner who knows how to play under pressure at number 6 and 7 and he is absolutely fit. So in my mind Dhoni is the number one player. No matter how many players come, you cannot replace because I think that if you remove someone, then another player should be ready. And he scored runs in that World Cup match against New Zealand and had a good partnership with Jadeja. He played well in that match and almost won us the game.” Kaif was quoted as saying by TimesofIndia.com.

“There has been no replacement. So many players have been tried in place of Dhoni. I don’t think KL Rahul is a long-term option. He should always be the back-up wicketkeeper, if a keeper gets injured then Rahul should keep wickets. So you have to groom another keeper. Even Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson haven’t been able to take the place of Dhoni. When you talk of Sachin, Dravid, you have had replacements like Kohli, Rohit, Rahane, Pujara. They have filled that void. But it hasn’t been the case with Dhoni. So I think Dhoni is still the number one wicketkeeper. He is amazingly fit and he should not be sidelined in a hurry,” Kaif added.