Dhoni's teammates assess his potential presence in the 2019 World Cup

What's the story?

MS Dhoni's teammates Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh have assessed his potential presence for the 2019 World Cup to be held in England. Speculation has been rife whether Dhoni should remain in the mix with the one-day team or allow the likes of the younger Rishabh Pant to flourish as a wicket-keeper batsman keeping in mind the marquee event is one-and-a-half years away.

In case you didn't know...

Dhoni has been India's limited-overs specialist ever since he retired from Test cricket in late 2014 while India were on a tour of Australia. And in January 2017, he resigned from the ODI and T20 captaincy in order to have a lighter shoulder for the remaining few years of his international career.

Also, this November, Laxman had gone as far as to say, “I feel it’s time for MS Dhoni to give youngsters a chance in the T20 format. It will be an opportunity for a youngster to blossom and get confidence playing international cricket.”

The heart of the matter

Ganguly, Harbhajan and Laxman, while analysing India's chances at the next World Cup, had differing opinions. While the former two said that Dhoni would have to keep performing in order to retain his place in the side, Laxman felt that Dhoni's would be a very crucial presence in 2019. "Yes, Dhoni is one of the best players India has seen in ODI and T20 cricket but he will have to continuously perform to remain in the reckoning,” off-spinner Harbhajan told the Aaj Tak-India Today network.

Ganguly echoed Harbhajan's views by saying, “The overall performances would decide the final shape of the Indian team for the 2019 World Cup.” But Laxman had a different viewpoint. "I believe that Dhoni would have a big role to play in the 2019 World Cup," he said.

What's next?

India play five more limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka at home – two ODIs and three T20Is – with the second ODI of the series scheduled for tomorrow at Mohali. Dhoni had helped India post a decent total courtesy of an 87-ball 65 at Dharamsala when none of the other batsmen showed any application. His performances will be closely monitored in the remaining games as well as during the limited-overs leg of the South Africa tour.

Author's take

With the 2019 World Cup nearly 18 months away, it may be a little too early to assess Dhoni's presence for the same. However, if he does stay on, his valuable experience will go a long way in boosting the Indian dressing room.