As Sri Lanka prepare for their final game of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup against India, pacer Lasith Malinga has heaped praises on MS Dhoni by saying that the wicketkeeper-batsman should play for another year or two.
Dhoni, 37, has been a subject of heavy criticism from the fans and the pundits alike after his subpar approach towards his batting in the ongoing tournament. Speaking about the former India captain, Malinga credited him for India’s success over the years by saying that it is his experience that the Men in Blue have gotten this far with such a young squad.
“I think MS (Dhoni) should play for another one or two years. He is the best finisher in the last 10 years. I don’t think anyone can beat him in future. He has to give his experience and situation handling to all the young players. They (India) have good experience in past captain MS Dhoni. I think that’s why they are a successful team. I think they are good enough to beat any team in this competition,” Malinga told ANI.
India have already sealed their semi-final berth following a win over Bangladesh. And most of the credit has rightly gone to the performances of their pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami coupled with their spinning wizardry of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Speaking about the contingent, the pacer said, “They (Bumrah and Shami) are the most accurate bowlers. Shami is the guy who took five wickets and three wickets. Every time he gets the ball, he knows how accurate it is for him. Jasprit is an experienced death overs bowler. He knows how to handle pressure situation,” Malinga said.
“I think that combination is very good for them. And I think they have two genuine good spinners. That’s why they are a well successful team. Jasprit is doing good in this world cup and I am still waiting for his five wickets in the World Cup. I fell if he gets five wickets in the semi-finals they will definitely qualify for the final,” he added.
Sri Lanka, who take on India on July 6 in Leeds, are already out of the tournament. Speaking about his team though, the pacer believes it was unfortunate that two of Sri Lanka’s games were washed out, but admitted that it wasn’t in their control anyway.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t play two matches (against Pakistan and Bangladesh) because of rain wash. Then we won three matches. Then we have opportunity day after. We are also in a good position but unfortunately, we are not qualified for the World Cup semi-finals. Still, if we play in the last two matches, we never know what’s going on. But we can’t control that,” he said.
And when asked about his plan after the World Cup, the 35-year-old concluded, “I want to go to Sri Lanka and meet the Sri Lanka cricket board and ask what they are expecting from me next month or next year. Then according to that, I want to get my decision as soon as possible,” he said.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Lindsey Parnaby
