After VVS Laxman, Ajit Agarkar opposes MS Dhoni's place in Virat Kohli's T20 squad
Mumbai: Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar feels that the Indian cricket team management should now start weighing up options to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the shortest format of the game. This comes after the Men in Blue suffered a 40-run loss against New Zealand in the second T20I at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium in Rajkot on Saturday.
Also read: VVS Laxman makes this big statement on MS Dhoni’s T20I career; here's what he said
With the hosts reeling at 67/4 in 9.1 overs, MS Dhoni joined skipper Virat Kohli at the crease and the game looked open at both ends. But as Kohli eased off the pressure, striking boundaries at regular intervals, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman failed to get in his groove.
Despite Dhoni notching up a valiant 49 for a losing cause, the Kiwis had already gained control once Mitchell Santner got rid of Kohli.
"If he (Dhoni) started to hit the ball from the word go, then India were in with a chance. But that has been his problem for a while now and not just in this match. Over the last few games, we have seen that he takes a little bit of time but in T20 cricket, there is hardly any time. I heard people say that he should bat at a different number, but he came into bat in the 10th over in this match. How many time you get to bat 10 overs in T20 cricket and in my opinion, there was enough time." Agarkar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"I think India must now look at other options, at least in T20Is. In one-day cricket, they seem to be happy with the role that he is playing. When you were the captain of the side, it was different. But just as a batsman, will India miss him, I don't think so. In T20 cricket, it is a lot easier to make that transition as there is a lot of experience in that team apart from MS Dhoni now," the 2007 T20 World Cup winner added.
With the series now tied at 1-1, the action shifts to Thiruvananthapuram as the Men in Blue aim to cap off the series with a victory on Tuesday.
