Dhoni is being misled regarding rotation policy: Bedi – Cricket News Update
Former Indian Captain, Bishan Singh Bedi, expressed reservations regarding the controversial rotation policy, saying Dhoni might have been commanded to implement it on higher orders.
“I think Dhoni is being misled. Who knows, he is just expressing BCCI's diktat. I am not convinced that the players are bad fielders. If players are being rotated just for the heck of it, I am not convinced,” Bedi said, in an attempt to lessen the criticism
against the 30-year-old skipper.
Dhoni recently issued a statement saying that the top three senior players of the squad (Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virender Sehwag) were being rotated because they were slow on the field, and likely to concede precious runs.
Bedi, however, disagreed, saying it was unacceptable to dismiss senior players in that manner, and that such a flimsy reason could never be the logic behind the rotation policy.
“Players such as Sehwag and Sachin have some stature. You can not just dust it. I don't think they are slow. How many (fast fielders) you have?” Bedi asked.
Suspicions regarding a rift in the team emerged after Virender Sehwag told the media he was not aware that slow fielding was the reason for the policy having been put into effect.
He went on to add that the skipper had a chat with the three senior players prior to the implementation of the policy, and explained that it was being put into effect in order to give the younger players on the squad an extended chance, which will further
allow accustomisation to the conditions Down Under, where the next World Cup will be staged in 2015. He also spoke about his fielding, which to him was still as good as it had always been.
The comments received much media attention, and the former Indian captain Kapil Dev attempted damage control by pointing out that it was just a mere “difference of opinion” in the national team, adding that such issues needed to be cleared up in order to
preserve the image of the team and country.
Bedi also expressed similar concerns, saying the “confidence of the team has been hit” owing to the contradictions in the statements being issued by senior players.