LANKA FAIL TO SEAL DIRECT QUALIFICATION FOR WORLD CUP
Colombo, Sept. 1: India head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday dispelled doubts about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future, stating that the stalwart is not even “half finished yet” and is very much in the scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup in England.
Dhoni has been top form in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka, having scored unbeaten 45, 67 and 49 in his last three innings including the one he played in his 300th ODI on Thursday.
Shastri said that India is set on the path of experimentation and rotation ahead of the 2019 World Cup but the 36-year-old Dhoni remains firmly in their plans.
“M.S. Dhoni is a massive influence on the team. He is a living legend in the dressing room and an ornament to the game. By no means or by any stretch of imagination he is finished or even half finished yet,” Shastri said on Friday.
“If anyone thinks so, they are mistaken and they have another one coming. They are in for some surprises. The old dog has plenty to offer,” he said.
Dhoni remains the best wicketkeeper in the country by some distance, said Shastri.
“How do you pick players? When they are good, and Dhoni is the best limited-overs’ keeper in the country. Forget his batting stats, what else do you want. Just because he has played for so many years, you are thinking about a replacement?
“He is the best in the country. Would you look to replace Sunil Gavaskar when he was 36 years old or Sachin Tendulkar when he was 36? Dhoni is still the best in the business, so what is the need to even entertain those thoughts,” he asked. Shastri underlined that experimentation and rotation will be the key going forward as India will play in excess of 40 limited-overs’ matches before the next World Cup. He also endorsed the selectors' decision to keep fitness as the primary criterion for selection in this process. “ODIs are where we will experiment. Winning and losing will not matter so much. Of course, you play to win but we have to try all possible combinations. It is a long way to go until the World Cup and we want to take one series at a time.
“Most of our players have played in this series already, and the endeavour will be to rotate the players giving everyone enough opportunity. So that when we have 12-15 months to go for the World Cup, we have a nucleus of about 18-20 players in place. And we can then choose from this group just before the World Cup begins.
“Obviously form will be important before that too, but the nucleus will be pretty much in place,” he said. Shastri further said no compromise will be made on fitness. “We want the best fielding side on the park. That's it. So how do you become the best fielding side on the park? Fitness. And that's why there have been parameters set.
“My job is not to get involved in selection ever because I want my players to trust me.”
—PTI Dubai, Sept. 1: Sri Lanka has failed to seal a direct qualification place in the ICC cricket World Cup 2019 in the ongoing ODI series against India after not being able to win two matches. The 1996 World champions needed two wins in the five- match series to secure a place in the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over event, which will take place from May 30 to July 15 in the United Kingdom. The top seven ODI sides apart from host England as on 30 September qualify directly.
But with India taking a 4-0 lead, Sri Lanka will now have to wait for the West Indies to lose at least one of their upcoming matches to be able to clinch that berth.
If Sri Lanka win the last match of the series on Sunday, they will reach 88 points on the points table but that will not be enough to ensure automatic qualification.
The Windies will be able to overtake Sri Lanka in such a scenario since they can also reach 88 points and edge Sri Lanka on decimal points if they win their upcoming six matches – one against Ireland on 13 September and all ODIs of a fivematch series against England.
In case Sri Lanka lose the series 5-0, the Windies will be able to overtake them by beating Ireland and winning either all five matches against England or the last four matches for a 4-1 series win. Teams not getting direct places in the World Cup 2019 will get another shot through a qualifying tournament.