There has been a lot of doubt raised on whether MS Dhoni deserves a place in the Indian team or not. All such doubts are not being cleared by the man himself. Dhoni, in the last two ODIs against Sri Lanka has made it very clear that he still has in him to excel at the big stage.

Former Indian player Virender Sehwag said in an interview that there is no replacement for MS Dhoni till 2019 ODI World Cup. He believes that his ideal replacement, Rishabh Pant is still not ready for the big stage.

Ideally, you would want someone who replaces Dhoni to have played a minimum of 50 ODIs. But even if Pant starts today, he will not gain much experience. India played a minimum number of 39 ODIs till 2019 World Cup.

Also, the fact that MS Dhoni is not doing anything wrong with the bat. He had a lean patch in between but the recent performances state that his impact and magic is coming back.

Indian captain Virat Kohli, too, needs someone who can take the team forward with him. Dhoni had the presence of Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli would want Dhoni to be his Tendulkar.

For those who still don’t believe that Dhoni is a capable batsman.

Here is a reality check.

MS Dhoni’s batting average in ODIs is 51.93. His batting average after the 2011 ODI World Cup is a massive 58.34. Since, 2013, it dropped down to 51.74 but it is still above 50 and since 2016, his batting average is 48.58. This was the period when he went out of form yet he maintained a batting average around 50.

That tells you a lot about the man.