ICC World Cup 2019: MS Dhoni batted with an injured thumb against England, image of him spitting blood goes viral

New Delhi, July 2: Veteran India cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is facing widespread criticism for his slow batting against England in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Dhoni scored 42 (not out) off 31 balls against England as India lost the match by 31 runs. It was the second occasion in his ODI career when Dhoni remained unbeaten but India ended on the losing side.

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Cricket fans and experts criticised Dhoni for his slow knock as the right-handed batsman didn't show any intent during the run chase. The cricketing faternity was divided watching Dhoni's slow batting as many felt the Ranchi cricketer couldn't do much as the pitch was getting slower and English bowlers were bowling in the right areas.

An image is going viral on the social media in which Dhoni could be seen spitting blood from his mouth. The image also showed that Dhoni had injured his thumb while batting.

Fans lauded the former India captain for doing his business without showing any inhibitions despite injuring his thumb.

Meanwhile, former India cricketer and noted broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar finds it "really unfair" that the critics' focus is on Dhoni's strike-rate at this stage of his career when younger players like KL Rahul should be held more accountable.

May be no one has seen this. He was suffering from thumb injury 😔#INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/3qjXd43QBo

— Tushar Rupani🇮🇳 (@rupani_tushar) July 2, 2019

.@msdhoni played with an injured thumb, and spat out blood. But still, there are “Experts” out there on social media, who question his “intent”. Stupefied is the word!#TeamIndia #MSDhoni #Dhoni pic.twitter.com/uetkN903Yz

— MS Dhoni Fans Official (@msdfansofficial) July 2, 2019

Manjrekar found it a bit surprising that the former India captain didn't go for big shots in the end, he feels others need to be hauled up too.

"It is really unfair that the focus is only on Dhoni because, if, at this stage of his career also, there aren't other batsmen around who can help India win matches, then it is not healthy (sign) for Indian cricket," Manjrekar told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)