Indian head coach Ravi Shastri opens up on MS Dhoni's future
India’s World Cup winning skipper MS Dhoni has distanced himself from cricket since the early exit from the World Cup 2019 in England and there are doubts whether he will make his return for the national side or not.
After the quadrennial event, MS Dhoni took a break from cricket inorder to serve for the Indian Army and then made himself unavailable for the home series against South Africa. There are reports that he will be unavailable for the upcoming series against Bangladesh as well and all this adds up to the uncertainty surrounding his career.
Speaking on MS Dhoni’s future with the Indian team, head coach Ravi Shastri has stated that it is upto MSD to decide if he wants to comeback or not, he further added that he will have to start playing before making a comeback.
After being excluded from the T20 series against West Indies and Australia last year, MS Dhoni made his comeback for Australia ODIs after staying away from cricket for more than two months.
“He will go down as one of our greatest players, very, very high up the list. Two World Cups, role model, what he has done for CSK, for the white-ball game, on top of that he’s played 90 Tests.
“Whether he wants to come back, that’s for him to decide. I have not met him after the World Cup. He has to first start playing and let’s see how things go. I don’t think he has started playing after the World Cup. If he is keen, he will definitely let the selectors know,” Shastri told The Hindu.
Before the T20 series against South Africa, there were reports suggesting that Dhoni might call it a day after Virat Kohli’s tweet for him. But rumours were brushed off with the Indian skipper himself clearing the air.
In MS Dhoni’s absence, selectors are given a chance to try Rishabh Pant. Having lost his place in playing XI in Test against the Proteas, Pant is deemed as the long term replacement for MS Dhoni.
