ODI captain MS Dhoni bowls to Test captain Virat Kohli in nets

MS Dhoni the bowler re-emerged on Friday during India’s training session

MS Dhoni was seen bowling medium pace with a lot of heart on Friday at the preparatory camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, matching the bowlers in the squad toe to toe. Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar can be seen alternating with the wicketkeeper, bowling to Virat Kohli.

The ODI captain will be returning to action against South Africa after the Bangladesh ODI series in June. He is now with the team in Bengaluru, and as can be seen from his bowling spell to heir-apparent Virat Kohli, he is raring to go.

The India-South Africa series will consist of three T20Is, five ODIs and a four Tests matches, and will go on for 72 days after kicking off on October 2nd. India last played an ODI series in Zimbabwe, when a lot of the senior players were rested and Ajinkya Rahane was named captain.

India’s fifth bowling options

Dhoni has been known to decide to roll his arm over during matches, the 2009 Champions Trophy semi-final clash being the most well-chronicled occasion. West Indian Travis Dowlin is his only international victim.

The thought can be entertained that Dhoni might be looking to become India’s 5th seamer, and interestingly, Rohit Sharma has also volunteered to be the team’s seam bowling all-rounder.

With the battle for slots in the batting order heating up and the failures of both Stuart Binny or Rishi Dhawan’s career to bloom, questions are just starting to be raised whether India’s fifth bowler can be made up of part-time contributions, maybe even from the wicketkeeper.

Looks who's rolling his arm. India captain @msdhoni has a bowl at the nets with fellow pacers in Bengaluru #IndvsSA https://t.co/aaoj1Je75M

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 25, 2015

Dhoni loves Jadeja so much that he is bowling his share in the nets. https://t.co/57ceLsRln3

— Shashi Agarwal (@shashiagarwal82) September 25, 2015