Under-fire Indian captain MS Dhoni is a doubtful starter for the third and final ODI against Pakistan that starts on Sunday in New Delhi. Dinesh Karthik, an aggressive wicket-keeper batsman with 1008 runs from 52 ODIs under his belt, has been called up a cover.

“MS Dhoni has a sore back on the eve of the third ODI against Pakistan. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has asked Dinesh Karthik to fly to Delhi as a back-up,” the BCCI said in a press release.

India have already lost the three-match series 2-0, but Dhoni’s men would be looking to end on a high and avoid their first home ODI series whitewash since 1983-84. Hence, the Indian skipper remained cautiously optimistic about his chances.

“If at all somebody is doubtful, it's me. Let's hope that I play. We'll see tomorrow,” he said.

Veteran openers Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli could be the possible choices for the leadership role, but they would also need to fire with the bat as Dhoni has been India’s most inform batsmen in the series so far with 167 runs.