Indian Captain M S Dhoni reveals why he chose not to field Amit Mishra

Questions have been raised over Dhoni’s team selection

India's bowling woes continued as the hosts were thrashed by Duminy and Co last night. Several critics and pundits questioned why Amit Mishra was dropped in favour of Axar Patel. Mishra has been performing consistently in T20s and his exclusion was unexpected. Especially after he picked up bundles of wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The legspinner endured a campaign to remember, during the last WorldT20 in Bangladesh,where he picked up 19 wickets.

Dhoni told TOI, “About [Amit] Mishra, you've got to consider the top seven, where one can fit. Ideally you'd want proper six batsmen and a seventh who can bat a bit because it's very important to put runs on the board. We are playing with five specialist bowlers who are bowling good. So I don’t see a reason as to why I should drop one of the spinners and pick Mishra unless it’s a specialist spinner that I have to get rid of.”

With four spinners within his ranks, Dhoni was in a fix over whom to choose. Ravichandran Ashwin was a definite inclusion, and the real toss-up was between Mishra and Harbhajan Singh. Instead, it was Axar Patel, who was given the preference over the other two experienced campaigners.

Speaking about the loss, Dhoni said, “there were a couple of phases in the game - two or four deliveries where we gave away a lot of runs, so that put a lot of pressure. “Overall, when I think a team scores 200 runs in an innings, the pressure in on the bowlers because the opposition is looking to chase it down.”

Unlike the visitors, India leaked runs at the end and Patel’s one over changed the match, when JP Duminy hit three sixes to motor his team to victory. The Indian Captain added, “I believe our spinners bowled really well. Barring that one over from Axar, he bowled really well. Such things happen in T20s; once a quality batsman is set, even the good bowlers can go for runs. Axar is somebody who is very consistent with his line and length and who hardly offers too many loose deliveries.”

The Indian captain felt that it was the dew-ridden Dharamshala ground that hampered his spinners, but the question remains if another specialist spinner, along with Ashwin could have changed the game.