MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh no longer the finishers they were before, says Mohammad Azharuddin

What’s the story?

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin believes that Indian veterans Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh are not the finishers that were a few years ago. Speaking at a cricket conclave on Wednesday, he said, “They can't be (the same finishers). They have been playing cricket for 14-15 years and playing consistently is not possible.”

Furthering his point, he explained that while both of them have been explosive performers for India in the past, maintaining the same level of dominance is not possible at the international level.

In case you didn’t know...

Singh made a comeback to the national side against England in January this year and he was able to bring the house down in the second ODI of the series. He scored a career-high score of 150 and was conducive to India’s thumping victory in the match.

Incidentally, it was Dhoni who partnered Singh in that riveting win while scoring his 10^th ODI century.

The Details

Azharuddin also has doubts about Singh’s level of comfort in the English soils and thinks that it is best to look ahead of him in the Champions Trophy.

Explaining his assertion, the 54-year-old said that the left-handed batsman’s game isn’t suitable for the conditions in England and that he hasn’t been able to perform after that hundred against England at the beginning of this year.

What next?

Dhoni’s place in the playing XI will definitely not be compromised by skipper Virat Kohli.

However, the middle order is open for Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya. Only time will tell if Kohli intends to stick with the experience of Singh or decides to go the other way.

Author’s take

In spite of what Azharuddin believes, the experience of Dhoni and Singh will be vital to India’s chances of defending the Champions Trophy title.

Probably for the first time ever, India’s bowling attack looks at par, if not stronger than its batting unit. Kohli needs to ensure that the latter does not let the team down in deeper stages of the tournament.

Singh made his debut in the 2000 Champions Trophy and has always been an asset in limited overs cricket.