Mahendra Singh Dhoni admits to being someone who is very difficult to get hold of.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni admits to being someone who is very difficult to get hold of.
So no wonder that the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) officials could not reach him before picking their Ranji team. But the India captain should know that being incommunicado is not a virtue, particularly when it comes to cricketing ethics.
Dhoni has not exactly been a great advertisement for domestic cricket. While most India internationals have allowed themselves to be selected by their respective state associations, Dhoni has chosen to remain unavailable to Jharkhand. He will perhaps be the only international player who will not be playing in the first round of Ranji matches from November 2.
Almost everyone else — Vire-nder Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Rohit Sharma — will all be seen in domestic action this week. What’s more, the India ‘A’ players such as Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Manoj Tiwary and Suresh Raina, currently playing in Mumbai, are trying to rush to different centres after the three-day warm-up game against England which will end just about 16 hours before the start of their respective Ranji games. Dhoni, however, has chosen to remain an exception.
Jharkhand officials say they tried their best to contact him but without much success. On Wednesday, the India captain surfaced in New Delhi attending a promotional event.
The Jharkhand team is currently just a few hundred miles away from the national capital. They will be playing in Jammu in their season opener on Friday but Dhoni is busy with other activities.
JSCA president said Dhoni can walk into the Jharkhand team anytime. “How does selection of the state team matter to the national captain? If he wishes to play to play for the state team he can walk in,” Amitabh Chaudhury told DNA.
One does not know what Dhoni’s plans are. Since his international debut in December 2004, he has played only one Ranji match.
No doubt Dhoni has been busy with national duties but so are Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Ashwin, etc. If they can find time for their state teams, why can’t Dhoni?
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