NEW DELHI, July 7:
Age is just a number if the going is good.
But if it’s not the case, then the number 36 — whether age or the waistline — can always lead to some amount of self doubts.
On his 36th birthday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni finds himself standing at crossroads of an illustrious career — just four matches short of a mammoth 300 ODI games.
One of the best finishers of the game, played perhaps the most horrendous knock of his 13-year-ODI career — 54 off 114 balls — in an unsuccessful 190-run chase against an under- strength West Indies.
His worst effort, ironically, came at a venue that is named after one of the greatest the game has ever seen — Sir Vivian Richards.
Dhoni’s knock at North Sound obviously begs a few questions. Some of the answers are available with common cricket loving public but the most important answer is only available with the man himself.
Can he win matches for India at the 2019 World Cup when he will be 38? Only Dhoni knows.
Are his finishing powers on the wane? They certainly seem to be going by his recent struggles.
Is he still the best wicketkeeper and one of the fittest in the team? An emphatic yes.
It’s a tricky situation for one of India’s limited overs legends. He will win matches here and there, will be brilliant behind the stumps with flash reflexes but will that be enough to convince Virat Kohli to give another 45 matches before the team again boards the flight to the United Kingdom. (PTI)
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