Dhoni issued with arrest warrant

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been issued with an arrest warrant after failing to appear in court following three summonses concerning allegations of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The case was initially filed after Dhoni appeared on the cover of India's 'Business Today' as the Hindu god Vishnu in April 2013 (pictured below).

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A member of India's right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad party, Yerraguntla Shyam Sunder filed the petition against Dhoni in March of this year.

"The court’s move was necessitated as Dhoni did not accept the summons sent previously," Gopal Rao, the advocate representing Yerraguntla Shyam Sunder, told the Hindustan Times.

"These warrants are only to make him accept and appear before the court."

Currently leading India in England ahead of their five-Test, five-ODI and one-T20 series, Dhoni's bailable warrant could be upgraded to not allow bail if he fails to attend his July 16 hearing date.

These allegations come ahead of what promises to be a massive year for the India team, with a four-Test series against world number one Australia followed by the ICC World Cup in February.

Schedule: Australia v India