Sehwag reopens Dhoni's disputed 'top-3 are slow fielders' claim that hastened their exits

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag reopened the controversial call of then skipper MS Dhoni to drop the top three from the Indian side, owing to the fitness issues during the 2011-12 series against Australia. Spearheading the transition to a younger Indian side, MS Dhoni had taken the harsh call to drop Sehwag, Gambhir, and Tendulkar from the ODI side, giving rise to speculations that the Captain Cool had effectively ruined the career of Sehwag. MS Dhoni had himself admitted that he had taken the call to drop these cricketers from the side - a piece of news that came as a huge shocker for the Indian cricket fans. 

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Sehwag reopens Dhoni's disputed 'top-3 are slow fielders' claim

Speaking to a cricketing website, Virender Sehwag revealed that MS Dhoni had never conveyed to them directly about the 'slow fielders' claim during the Australia tour and that the had to find out from the press. Sehwag further alleged that Dhoni spoke about it to the press and not at the team meetings and that it was only mentioned that Rohit Sharma would act as an opener according to the rotational policy followed by the team. Drawing a comparison of the snub with Pant's situation with the team at the moment, Sehwag said that it was wrong if the same thing was happening to Pant. Rishabh Pant has been left out of the Indian side ever since he went down with a concussion and KL Rahul took over additional responsibility as the keeper, excelling with both the bat and the gloves. Pant, who was previously viewed as the successor to MS Dhoni and the side's first-choice wicketkeeper, suddenly finds himself out of the picture, with KL Rahul emerging as the frontrunner to keep his place in the side.  

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Rishabh Pant is not a natural wicket-keeper: Ravi Shastri

As Rishabh Pant tries to win back his place in the playing 11, India head coach Ravi Shastri has made it clear that it won’t be easy for him. Shastri has said that Pant would have to work really hard on his wicketkeeping to brighten up his chances of playing again. While speaking to a leading media network, Ravi Shastri added that Rishabh Pant was not a natural keeper but his talent would not go to waste if he worked on his keeping skills. Shastri has communicated the same to Pant, who is expected to be on the sidelines for a long period of time, with KL Rahul taking his place all of a sudden.

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