Fingers At Dhoni Because Of His Age: Virat Kohli

Thiruvananthapuram: India captain Virat Kohli heaped praise on wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying he is fit at over 35 years and performing for the side.

The former India skipper was criticised for failing to clear boundaries at regular intervals after the second Twenty20 International (T20I) against New Zealand. "First, I don't understand why are people only pointing him out, I'm not able to understand this," the 29-year-old was quoted as saying by cricinfo on Tuesday.

"If I fail three times, no one is going to point fingers at me because I'm not over 35. The guy is fit, he is passing all the fitness tests, he is contributing to the team in every way possible, tactically on the field, with the bat. If you look at the series against Sri Lanka and Australia, he did really well and in this series he hasn't got much time to bat," Kohli added.

Kohli also said all-rounder Hardik Pandya failed to contribute runs batting at no.5 or 6 but his form has not been pointed out. "You have to understand, the position in which he comes out to bat, even Hardik (Pandya) could not score in that game," the India skipper said.

"Then why are we only pointing out one man? Hardik also got out in the last T20 that we played in Rajkot. We are conveniently targeting only one man which is not fair. We also have to look at the fact that by the time he comes in, either the run rate is already eight-and-a-half or nine-and-a-half and the wicket is also not the same when the new ball is bowled," Kohli added.

IANS