No one can replace Dhoni till 2019 WC, says Sehwag

new delhi — The jury is still out on whether Mahendra Singh Dhoni should be a part of 2019 World Cup squad but Virender Sehwag strongly feels that the Indian team is “yet to find suitable replacement” of the former skipper.

“I don’t think anyone can replace Dhoni at this point of time. Rishabh Pant is good but he would also need time to replace him. But that can only happen after 2019. It’s then when we should think about Dhoni’s replacement. Till then let Pant gain experience,” Sehwag said.

For one of India’s greatest match-winners of all time, cricket lovers should pray that Dhoni remains as fit as he is currently rather than focus on his lean patch with the bat.

“We should not worry about whether Dhoni is scoring runs or not. We should only pray that MS Dhoni is fit till 2019 World Cup. The experience that he has in the middle and the lower middle order, no one has that,” said Sehwag, who is a part of Star Sports panel for the upcoming limited overs series against Australia.

For Sehwag, Dhoni’s entire career is a definition of ‘cycle of life’. “Like life, the beauty of sports is that no two periods are identical. You will have to deal with it. There are days when you make runs and there will be a dry spell. Like in business, every year you don’t make profits,” he said.

There is a school of thought that KL Rahul could be seen with big gloves in case Dhoni is found wanting but ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ is completely against that idea.

“I would never want a guy, who is not a natural ‘keeper. It’s not keeping 20 overs in Indian Premier League. During a 50-over match, one missed stumping or missed catch can change the course of the match. It’s not a risk worth taking,” said Sehwag.

The swashbuckling opener wants middle-order batsmen to be given more chances so that everyone has close to 100-match experience by the time World Cup begins. The core team should be set at least one year before the World Cup.

“The middle-order that would play in the World Cup along with the bowlers should be given enough opportunities, so by the time of World Cup, they should have played close to 100 ODIs each. They should be ready to handle each and every challenging situation thrown at them,” he said. — PTI