Be it any sport, there is no better sight or sense of excitement for the veterans of sport than seeing a young player taking the center stage and proving everyone that he belong at this level. This is why I believe there is no better time for MS Dhoni to relax and enjoy his game and take pleasure from the young players who he is going to lead in this Zimbabwe tour.
There are a few interesting prospects in this squad. Yuzvendra Chahal is one among them. Being from Haryana, he has always been in the shadow of Amit Mishra. IPL has brought him to lime light. In the last couple of seasons despite of being from a batting powerhouse like RCB and playing in a batting paradise like Bengaluru he has done exceptionally well and it is high time he gets his chance, especially in the limited overs side. Spin being his armor, it will be interesting to see how MS uses him.
Barinder Sran was an unknown entity when he got his call up for the national squad. It's hard to judge any player from one series. But looking at him in the IPL, his attitude is something that has impressed. He is always ON in the field, trying to contribute with his fielding efforts which is always going to be an added value for the captain. Hope he gets his chance, becomes smarter with the ball and doesn't fade away with time.
Lokesh Rahul and Karun Nair have been incredible for their state team over the past three years. Lokesh especially has started his test career and done reasonably well in List A games and IPL as well. Obviously he has to improve alot as far as his keeping is concerned. Being with a keeper like Dhoni, he can definitely learn and improve himself. Karun has become a vital middle order batsman in IPL. It's time for them to live the moment and grab the opportunity with both hands.
Manish Pandey is coming back to the Indian team after the match winning century in Sydney. The finisher in MS Dhoni is definitely not the same with his age. I believe Manish can be groomed into a good finisher who bats at No. 5. But only time will tell us provided how the captain uses him and whether he gets a long tenure at the same slot.
There is one thing I wish, which is very less likely to happen. I wish Dhoni gives up his gloves and let either Lokesh or Kedar to keep wickets so that they can learn and get groomed in his presence, as there is no replacement for MS at the moment and they can get better only by doing it.
With the kind of players in the team, I believe this is the time for Dhoni to not to worry too much about the results and let the younger generation take center stage and enjoy the show. It is time for him to express himself as a batsman and a captain and groom the players for the future which I believe he will, before calling it a day.
