You can't replace seniors: Dhoni

[Guest Hiten.]

CHANDIGARH, October 8: In complete contrast to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar's remarks about the senior players in the side, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday sided with the ageing stalwarts and said they are irreplaceable. After his side beat Australia by eight runs in a cliffhanger, Dhoni said the team needed to groom the youngsters but at the same time insisted that the ageing trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid was an indispensable part of the side. "I think none said they are no longer needed. Frankly, you can't replace the seniors, given the amount of talent they have. They have proved themselves in this match as well," Dhoni said. "Of course we need to groom the youngsters side by side. Because if one day the senior players decide to leave the arena, you would be at sea. So you have to keep the juniors ready," he said. Vengsarkar in a recent interview had told that seniors should not take their place for granted. Tendulkar and Ganguly gave India their best start of the series, forging a 91-run stand in 20 overs and saw through the difficult early hour when the ball was swinging a lot. Asked if he felt that it was a tardy start, Dhoni said that was not the case. "(On the contrary) I think we went on to score 291 just because of the start they gave us. They played really well against the Australian bowlers who were bowling so well and credit goes to Sachin and Sourav," he argued. Asked what was the turning point in the see-saw match, Dhoni said, "I can't single out any particular wicket. Getting (Andrew) Symonds and (Matthew) Hayden's wickets, Bhajji's over, Murali Kartik's over..." Did he ever feared the match slipping through his finger? "No", replied Dhoni. India managed to stay afloat in the series, which they still trail 1-2, and Dhoni said he was not thinking about levelling or winning the series. "We are going to take it just match-by-match basis. We are down 1-2 and we need to play good cricket," he said. Hayden struck a run-a-ball 92 that almost took the match away from India and Dhoni admitted, "We need to get him out." He was also happy that comeback man Murali Kartik had lived upto his expectations. "I was among the people who wanted him to be back. I think he was brilliant. If he had not done so well, I would have been at the receiving end." Finally, Dhoni was relieved that Monday's match was broadly devoid of any on-field antics. "Whatever goes inside, you should leave it behind when you cross the rope. You have to keep yourself calm and cool. I think nobody wants a game without a chit-chat but that has to be within limit and I think none cross the line today.":two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up: ============== Its pretty good that the skipper has come to rescue for seniors. Vengsarkar should have never challenged seniors in first place, if he had to make that comment he shouldn't have said in media, it should have been in a meeting with trio and him. Lets see how Big three stand up to Vengsarkar's challenge in the forthcoming matches.

[jf1gp_1]

dont know how others feel but dravid seemed so disintereted.

[varun]

dont know how others feel but dravid seemed so disintereted.

Probably he thinks that having a nonchalant, carefree and disinterested attitude might get his form back ?

[Holysmoke]

Hari was saying dravid gonna be dropped for badri next game

[jf1gp_1]

Probably he thinks that having a nonchalant' date=' carefree and disinterested attitude might get his form back ?[/quote'] Hope you are right cause he looked like a man who wasnt enjoying his cricket. Hats of to Sachin you can keep the batsman quiet (like yesterday) but the fighter within him noone can touch that man.

[Guest Hiten.]

Hari was saying dravid gonna be dropped for badri next game

As soon as I read badrinath's name been drafted in the 15 men squad, that what clicked in my mind too. I'd personally stay neutral with that move (badri in for dravid).

[Anakin]

RD was awesome in couple of matches where he just went berserk, don't know what's bothering him now

[Ram]

Yesterday's match was a big egg on the face for everyone calling for a blanket ban of the seniors. You just cant replace players like that. We need a gradual phasing out + Integration policy. Ad-hoc dropping of all seniors will be nothing short unqualified lunacy.

[yoda]

Yesterday's match was a big egg on the face for everyone calling for a blanket ban of the seniors. You just cant replace players like that. We need a gradual phasing out + Integration policy. Ad-hoc dropping of all seniors will be nothing short unqualified lunacy.

Didn't know that Dhoni, Uthappa and M. Karthik are all now Seniors. :D

[Anakin]

Didn't know that Dhoni' date=' Uthappa and M. Karthik are all now Seniors. :D[/quote']Dhoni and Uthappa could bat like that because of the foundation by the seniors and Karthik had the do his bit defending that total.

[Shehezaada]

no...propz need to given to Dravid for fading slowly into the background. He's just a quiet guy...also he probably doesn't want to cramp Dhoni's style.

[Rahul Khan]

Dhoni ki race lambi hogayi in statements sey................................

Seniors can neither be replaced nor sidelined...instead, youngsters can be encouraged by giving chances to play...isn't it? :eyedance:

[Ram]

Didn't know that Dhoni' date=' Uthappa and M. Karthik are all now Seniors. :D[/quote'] I wonder how would you feel if the big 3 play the next match too and we win again. :D

[Rahul Khan]

Didn't know that Dhoni' date=' Uthappa and M. Karthik are all now Seniors. :D[/quote'] none of them...Yuvi and Zaheer Khan are getting senior a bit!

[Donny]

Yesterday's match was a big egg on the face for everyone calling for a blanket ban of the seniors. You just cant replace players like that. Ad-hoc dropping of all seniors will be nothing short unqualified lunacy.

"blanket ban of the seniors" ?? "Ad-hoc dropping of all seniors" ?? Can you quote anyone who has actually written such statements, mm ?

[Ram]

"blanket ban of the seniors" ?? "Ad-hoc dropping of all seniors" ?? Can you quote anyone who has actually written such statements, mm ?

When India lost the one-day series in England and then went on to win the 20/20 cup without the seniors , there were many calls for the Sachin+Dravid+Ganguly to be dropped from the one day team too. There was also talk by one of the selectors that seniors should start performing or else they will be replaced. Even here, there were quite a few posters calling for the Big 3 to be dropped.

[Chandan]

Hari was saying dravid gonna be dropped for badri next game

Who is Hari and how does he know it?

[King]

Dravid hardly had time to score much I wouldn't be too worried about his form. He knows how to score runs. Similarly Tendulkar and Ganguly know how to get runs but with Vengsarkar calling for the heads of the seniors they are forced to just hang in there. They would rather get a 80 ball 50 and keep their place than say score a brisk 30+ off 20 balls.

[sachin_fan]

The 1st game the big 3 played together, we won. Credit goes to a lot of ppl for the victory, but this is team india. The big 3 are still the top 3 players in the country. No one can deny that. And if u rnt gonna field your best, whts the point in fielding the rest

[bharat297]

Well ... i think Yuvraj is our best ODI batsman now ... but i agree that Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid should not be dropped. I watched Dravids innings and in the short space he played some nice crisp shots and he was eventually undone by a yorker at the death overs ... hardly anything to read in to. Yes he hasnt been at his best but who here is confident to back against Dravid? He is probably the hardest worker in the team and will no doubt train his backside off trying to get some big scores.