Dhoni banned for two ODIs, Sehwag named as captain

Nagpur: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been suspended for two ODIs for slow over-rate in the second One-dayer against Sri Lanka.

Match referee Jeff Crowe awarded the ban to Dhoni after the match got delayed by about an hour due to recurrent deliberations among the Indian players in the field when Lankans were closing in on the target.

Owing to the ban, Dhoni will miss the next two One-dayers of the five-match series, to be played in Cuttack and Kolkata. The Indian skipper will hence return to play the final ODI in Delhi.

The home team has been dealt a huge blow going into the third match with the series poised at one-all, after the Lankans won the Nagpur thriller by three wickets.

Dhoni has displayed a dazzling form, in the series so far, following his whirlwind 72 in the first One-dayer with a sparkling century at Nagpur.

While Dinesh karthik is expected to perform the duties behind the wicket in Dhoni’s absence, the BCCI has named Virender Sehwag as the stand in captain for the next two ODIs.