MS Dhoni is known for his words of wisdom from behind the stumps and it is this invaluable quality of the cricketer that has landed him in trouble on the internet as a certain Twitter user has accused him of religious bias towards Khaleel Ahmed.
This claim was made on the internet during India's third T20I against New Zealand at Seddon Park in New Zealand and it was with regards to Dhoni's chatter as a wicketkeeper. In the last couple of years, Dhoni has been a vital cog in the Indian spinning cavalry as he bellows instructions to the slower bowlers.
Dhoni is constantly heard on the stump microphone asking his bowlers to do different things and his impeccable game reading has always benefitted the bowlers. One example of this came in the ODI series when he asked Kuldeep Yadav to bowl from around the stumps to Trent Boult. He also told him to make sure the batsman plays on the front foot and the ball be a googly. Kuldeep followed suit and received immediate success.
That incident was one of multiple such occurrences but it seems as though his selective advising to spinners while leaving out the pacers has not gone down well with a particular Twitter user. This Twitter user burst out against Dhoni and accused him of religious bias following a tweet by another user calling Khaleel a liability.
The user, named 'simbacop', felt everyone abuses Khaleel because of his religion and that cricket has no place for religious intolerance.
But another Twitter user called him out saying that what he said was baseless. It was then that 'simbacop' brought up Dhoni and accused him of being a part of the supposed religious intolerance. It may be noted that Dhoni was caught on video supposedly abusing Khaleel during India's third ODI against Australia. This incident happened during a drinks break when Khaleel had reportedly stepped onto the pitch with spikes at a crucial juncture in India's eventually successful run chase.
The debate continued for a bit and 'simbacop' reminded everyone that Khaleel was the man to dismiss Kane Williamson.
It may be noted that Dhoni is usually more vocal while keeping to the spinners but also provides assistance to pacers when required.
Khaleel had a forgettable day with the ball in hand as he conceded 47 runs in his four overs. He also dropped a simple catch off Hardik Pandya's bowling and Colin Munro used that reprieve to add some quick runs to the scoreboard. Munro was eventually dismissed for 72 off 40 eventually. Khaleel later came back to dismiss New Zealand skipper Williamson.
New Zealand posted 212 batting first and India is posing a strong reply in the hope of winning the match and the series.
