India captain Virat Kohli has defended MS Dhoni after the veteran wicketkeeper received plenty of criticism during the T20I series against New Zealand.
Although India won the three-match series two-one after snatching the deciding game on Tuesday, Dhoni copped a lot of flak for his batting displays, especially during the second T20I.
Chasing a target of 197 on a flat surface, the 36-year-old Dhoni scored a 37-ball 49 in Rajkot but initially struggled to find the boundaries that was required at the start of his innings as India lost that game by 40 runs.
Former internationals, including Agit Agarkar and VVS Laxman, has called for Dhoni to be dropped from T20Is in favour of a younger player so that India have a succession plan for after the 2019 World Cup.
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However, Kohli has now come in support of the former India skipper saying he is still as fit as ever and still contributes to the team.
Speaking about Dhoni, Kohli said on Tuesday after the third T20I: “First, I don’t understand why are people only pointing him out, I’m not able to understand this.
“If I fail three times, no one is going to point fingers at me because I’m not over 35. The guy is fit, he is passing all the fitness tests, he is contributing to the team in every way possible, tactically on the field, with the bat.
“If you look at the series against Sri Lanka and Australia, he did really well and in this series he hasn’t got much time to bat.
“As team management and players, we understand the situations in which he goes out to bat. We don’t get emotional and excited by the opinions of people who are looking at things from a different point of view.
“If you are playing, you know how the wicket is and what the situation is like. So, I think he is doing absolutely fine. He understands his game, he understands his role, but it doesn’t come off every time.”
