Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming has come in support of Team India’s star wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni over the talks of his retirement.
Fleming believes that Dhoni can extend his International cricket career till ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He also feels that Dhoni will perform superbly as a wicket-keeper batsman in the Indian team till 2019.
“There are a lot of players who can do that, but there is only one MS Dhoni at the moment. I think his track record deserves the first crack at it. He has balance in his life now so he can get fit and come back fresh. I think he will do it,” the southpaw was quoted as saying.
“He is aware that he needs to keep performing and that’s when great players are at their best. If you get too comfortable you are not at your best. He is not arrogant enough to assume that he will make it through to the 2019 World Cup,” Fleming added.
“He’s made it clear that he wants to play that World Cup but he knows he also to do well to do that. He’s now trying to prove his worth as he did when he was a youngster. That again is a tribute to his approach to the game and his humility towards the game.”
“He’s desperate to keep performing. If he feels he stops performing and starts to lag and becomes a hindrance, then he will give up the game,” Fleming commented.
Dhoni gave up his the captaincy in January just to focus on his batting and has played some brilliant innings as the wicket-keeper batsman since then.
Well, the ongoing Champions Trophy in England will be a career defining moment for Dhoni. And also it would be interesting to see if he bats higher up the order during the remaining matches of the tournament.
