MS Dhoni must play domestic cricket to be eligible for India selection, says Mohinder Amarnath 

What’s the story?

Mohinder Amarnath, India’s 1983 World Cup hero, thinks that MS Dhoni must play domestic cricket to stake his claim for a place in the Indian team. Not just Dhoni, Amarnath feels that the other senior players who are not engaged in any international cricket must also play domestic cricket to merit selection.

In case you didn’t know…

Dhoni has been out of action for the last month and a half; his last international game came against the Windies on November 1st in the fifth ODI.

He was dropped for the subsequent T20I series and was also axed from the squad for the T20I series in Australia.

A couple of months ago, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also advised Dhoni to play domestic cricket to get back into form.

But while Dhoni failed to act on that advice, other axed players like Shikhar Dhawan and Kedar Jadhav have also not turned up to play Ranji Trophy for Delhi and Maharashtra respectively.

The details

While the Indian team is currently playing a four-match Test series in Australia, Amarnath wants the senior players (who are not a part of the Test squad) to turn up for their Ranji sides.

“Every individual is different but one thing I have always believed in is that if you want to play for India you have to play for your state as well. I think they (BCCI) should change this policy altogether. A lot of senior players don't play domestic cricket,” the former all-rounder was quoted saying by PTI.

Amarnath feels that BCCI should carve out an eligibility criterion so that the players walk out to represent and play for their states more often. The 68-year-old stressed on the importance of current form as well.

“The BCCI should make it an eligibility criteria. Not only a number of games, you should be playing regularly for your state if you are not playing for India, and not only just before the India selection. Then only you can judge how good the guy is playing. Whatever you have achieved is all in the past. What is important is current form,” he added.

What’s next?

After the four-match Test series, India will lock horns with Australia in a short three-game ODI series before travelling to New Zealand for a limited-overs tour. Dhoni, along with other senior players like Dhawan and Jadhav, are expected to be a part of those series - irrespective of whether they play in the domestic circuit or not.