Individual preferences should not be criticised, says MS Dhoni on players skipping the Ranji Trophy

A number of high-profile names including the former India skipper MS Dhoni recently faced criticism for giving the ongoing Ranji Trophy a miss. Shikhar Dhawan, who was dropped from India’s Test side after England tour, decided to stay in Melbourne with his family instead of playing for Delhi while Ambati Rayudu, who is part of India’s ODI squad, announced his retirement from first-class cricket in November in order to focus on limited-overs cricket.

On the other hand, Dhoni also skipped the first-class competition despite struggling with the bat in international cricket and lack of game time.  Dhoni, who retired from Tests in 2014, has not played any competitive game since the ODI series against the Windies in October. He was left out of the team for the T20Is against the Windies and Australia. It was the first time he faced the axe since his international debut in 2004.

And while Dhoni did not bother about grinding it out in the domestic arena to get his mojo back, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar felt otherwise. The legendary opener felt that Dhoni could have played the Ranji Trophy to stay in rhythm during a long break between limited-overs assignments for India. Former cricketer Mohinder Amarnath had also echoed Gavaskar’s sentiments and said Dhoni and other senior players must play domestic cricket to be eligible for selection in the national team.

“He [Dhoni] didn’t play the T20Is against Australia, before that he didn’t play the West Indies Tests, and then he is not playing the Test series against Australia,” Gavaskar had said. “So, he last played in October and will next play in January, which is a huge gap. But if he doesn’t do well on tours of Australia and New Zealand, then there will be more questions asked on his place in the World Cup.

“Every individual is different but one thing I have always believed in is that if you want to play for India you have to play for your state as well. I think they (BCCI) should change this policy altogether. A lot of senior players don’t play domestic cricket,”Amarnath had said.

Dhoni’s take on the matter

Unlike Gavaskar and Amarnath, MS Dhoni believes that players opting not to participate in the Ranji Trophy should not be criticized for their “individual preferences”. The veteran batsman insisted that it is important for the cricketers to safeguard themselves keeping in sight the packed cricketing calendar.

The 37-year-old further opined that it is important to make domestic circuit less challenging, adding that one should not be too critical of the T20 cricket.

“It is important to safeguard players. We have to make the domestic circuit slightly less challenging [in terms of the itinerary] for the individual. Moreover, it is important to be not too critical of T20 cricket and also individual preferences. Individual preferences should not be criticised,” he said while speaking at an event.

Dhoni, meanwhile, recently returned to India’s T20I squad for the series against New Zealand. He was also named in the ODI squad for the series against Australia and the Kiwis.

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