Reports | MS Dhoni informed that he’s not in the scheme of things, team to move forward with youngsters

07/22/2019

According to reports, MS Dhoni has been communicated to that he will no longer be a part of the Indian squad in the future but the veteran has refused to give in and retire. Chief Selector MSK Prasad subsequently dropped hints that Rishabh Pant may become a permanent pick in the team.

With rumours circulating around MS Dhoni’s retirement ever since what was seen by most as a disappointing World Cup performance from him, reports have now come to the fore stating that his international career is almost certainly over.

According to a TOI report, chief selector MSK Prasad had a sit down with MS Dhoni to discuss the future after their World Cup campaign ended with a semi-final defeat to New Zealand. Dhoni was told that the team has decided to move on from him and build a team for the future, but the 38-year-old stated he’ll keep fighting for his spot instead of hanging his boots.

“He (Dhoni) has told Prasad that he’s not retiring for now. However, he has been told that he’s not in the scheme of things. We’re going ahead with the youngsters. He told us to go ahead with our plans. That’s why in the presser, Prasad said that we’re looking ahead now. Now, it’s up to him if he wants to retire today, tomorrow, or whenever he wants to,” TOI reported the words of a reliable source.

The squad for the Carribean tour was picked on Sunday and Dhoni’s name was absent from the list since he has taken a couple of months off from the sport to serve in the Territorial Army. While Prasad refused to explicitly address whether they had decided to exclude him from their plans, he did drop some definite hints revealing it might be curtains for the legendary Indian wicketkeeper.

“Retirement is purely an individual (decision). A legendary cricketer like Dhoni knows when to retire. The future course of action is in the hands of the selection committee. I don’t think we need to discuss anything more on it. First of all, he is not available. Second, we have already started grooming youngsters,” Prasad said in the press conference after releasing the squads.

With the mega event done and dusted, the Indian team will be looking forward to build a squad for the World T20 to be held next year as far as white ball cricket is concerned.

“Having said that, we had certain road maps till the World Cup. Subsequently, post the World Cup, we have laid down few more plans. We thought of giving as many opportunities to Pant to see that he is groomed. That’s our plan right now,” Prasad said.

With 21 year old Rishabh Pant set to be India’s go to keeper batsman, the selectors will have to make sure he isn’t overburdened on tours.

“We need to manage his workload. So, Wriddhiman Saha and KS Bharat will come into the picture,” the chief selector added.