Reports | MS Dhoni unlikely to be selected for upcoming T20 series against South Africa

After several questions were raised on MS Dhoni’s performances in the World Cup that concluded last month, the former Indian skipper is likely to be axed from the T20 squad for next month’s T20 series against visitors South Africa, according to reports. The 38-year-old was also not a part of India’s most recent limited overs tour of the West Indies after he had taken an indefinite break from the game in order to serve the country’s armed forces.

“There are only 22 T20 Internationals before India play their first World T20 game and selectors are clear in their vision that it's time to move forward,” a senior BCCI official was reported saying by TOI.

Rishabh Pant filled in with the gloves behind the wickets in the veteran’s absence and helped drive the team to a 3-0 whitewash of the hosts. He is often labelled as the future of Indian cricket, which has seen the 21-year-old already accumulate 40 international caps at such a young age.

"Retirement is an individual decision and selectors or for that matter, no one has any right to decide on that front. But they have every right to decide the roadmap for the 2020 World T20 and that's to give Rishabh Pant maximum chances,” the official explained.

Even though Pant failed in the first two matches of the series recording scores of 0 and 4, he made a statement in the series’ final game with a defining innings of 65 coming in just 42 balls. With KL Rahul slowly being integrated into the squad as a regular player and Ishan Kishan putting up one good performance after the other for the A-team, the three wicket keeper slots for next year’s World T20 seem to have already been filled.

“Pant scored a fifty in the last T20 that he played. Ishan Kishan is in the A set-up. Do we even have the option of looking back when we need consistent big-hitters on big Australian grounds?” the official concluded.