Former Indian opener and long-time teammate of MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir feels that the former skipper has to perform like any other cricketer to remain a regular feature in Team India.

Questions have been raised on Dhoni’s place in the side considering that the 36-year-old’s game has changed a lot in recent years and he’s not anymore the aggressive impact player as before.

Speaking on Dhoni’s chances of making 2019 World Cup squad, Gambhir expressed that the Ranchi lad has to perform consistently to be included in the 15-member squad for the ICC tournament. 

“The only way he (Dhoni) can survive till the 2019 World Cup is if he keeps performing.and that should be the criteria for irrespective of whether he is MS Dhoni or someone like Manish Pandey who’s been selected to play for the country,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.

Gambhir also stressed that selectors should refrain from looking at the past while deciding the team for the future. 

“Okay, you have done something in the past but that’s passed. You can keep playing till you want to if you keep performing. At the same time I believe someone like Dinesh Karthik has been a massive loss for us because whenever he got an opportunity, he did well. He could have been your backup wicketkeeping option as well.”

Feature image: AFP