Dhoni still the No. 1 wicketkeeper in India: Kaif

Former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif believes Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still the number one wicketkeeper in the country.

Kaif feels the team management and selectors should not sideline Dhoni as K L Rahul is only a stop-gap wicketkeeper. Dhoni has not played for India since the 2019 ICC World  Cup semifinal loss at the hands of New Zealand.

It was widely believed that the IPL could give an indication of whether Dhoni will earn a recall to the Indian team. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been forced to postpone the IPL due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"There has been no replacement. So many players have been tried in place of Dhoni. I don’t think K L Rahul is a long-term option. He should always be the back-up wicketkeeper, if a keeper gets injured then Rahul should keep wickets. So you have to groom another keeper. Even Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson haven’t been able to take the place of Dhoni.

"When you talk of Sachin (Tendulkar), (Rahul) Dravid, you have had replacements like (Virat) Kohli, Rohit (Sharma), (Ajnikya) Rahane, (Cheteshwar) Pujara. They have filled that void. But it hasn’t been the case with Dhoni. So I think Dhoni is still the number one wicketkeeper. He is amazingly fit and he should not be sidelined in a hurry,” former Indian U-19 captain Kaif said while talking to Times of India.

Dhoni has been keeping everyone guessing regarding his future. The man from Ranchi will turn 39 on July 7.