England all-rounder Ben Stokes
England all-rounder Ben Stokes' recent "showed no intent" statement regarding former Indian skipper MS Dhoni's approach during the India's chse to 338 against England in World Cup 2019 group-stage tie, has created quite a stir, especially in Pakistan.A few veteran cricketers from Pakistan reckoned that the defeat was a deliberate act by the Indian team in a bid to jeopardise Pakistan's progress to the semifinal. And in India, Sreesanth criticised Stokes' statement.
During an interview on Helo app, Sreesanth warned Stokes that if he ever faces Dhoni again on the field, the veteran cricketer is likely to end his career, whether in IPL or in international cricket.
"Main toh thoda yehi bolunga Ben Stokes ko ki dua karo ki Dhoni bhai aapke khilaaf dobara na khele. Dhoni bhai ke memory se kuch bhi jaata nahi...," he said.
"Usse all the best karta hun ki agar IPL ya England-India kahi bhi mila na bete, abhi tak toh 2 ya 1 million mil raha hai na, Dhoni bhai career bhi khatam kar denge. Ben Stokes ko main open challenge deta hun ki Dhoni bhai ko out toh kar nahi sakta woh chahe kitna bhi world ka best all-rounder ho. I just want to say that Ben Stokes you have been playing for the last 4-5 years since I was not playing, I am really looking forward to bowl to you brother. Just to give an answer to what you told about Dhoni."
Earlier last month, Stokes, in his book 'On Fire', talked about the World Cup game against India where he found the Kohli-Rohit partnership mystifying while finding no intent in Dhoni's performance.
"Arguably, the way MS Dhoni played when he came in with 112 runs needed from 11 overs was even stranger. He appeared more intent on singles than sixes. Even with a dozen balls remaining, India could still have won. There was little or no intent from him (Dhoni) or his partner Kedar Jadhav. To me, while victory is still possible you always go for broke," he wrote.
