Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri called former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni the “ultimate team man” and said that some “jealous” people wanted him to have a "couple of bad days" as they are “waiting to see” his international career come to an end.
Several people, including Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman, had raised questions about Dhoni’s place in India’s T20 squad during the recently concluded series against New Zealand.
He said the Indian team knew Dhoni's worth and that the criticism against the wicketkeeper-batsman made no difference to them.
"It (the criticism) doesn't make a difference to me. In our minds we know where Dhoni stands within the team. He is an ultimate team-man. He was a great leader and now an ultimate team-man."
Taking a dig at some former cricketers and experts who were critical of Dhoni now and have suggested he be dropped from the T20 side, he said: "Not so long ago I used to do television and people used to ask me questions. You need to answer questions to make a show happen.
Shastri pointed out that Dhoni, who has retired from Test cricket, has averaged over 65 in ODIs over the last one year and helped India win matches in Sri Lanka and against Australia at home in the last series.
Dhoni's 37-ball-49 in the second T20 International that India lost to New Zealand was criticised by experts as he played too many dot balls.
(With inputs from IANS.)
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