MS Dhoni hit the headlines for not being named in the T20I squads against the Windies and Australia, which took the Indian cricket fraternity by a shock. He is a regular wicketkeeper-batsman who has the potential to produce game-changing moments.
However, the chief selector MSK Prasad, while talking to the reporters, said that MS Dhoni hasn’t been dropped from the team. Their only intention is to look for the second wicketkeeper-batsman and therefore the former Indian skipper will not be seen spicing it up for the next six T20 Internationals. The veteran plays only ODIs & T20Is these days and his omission from the shorter format surprised many as nobody saw this coming.
“We’re looking at a second ’keeper, so Rishabh Pant is there and DK (Dinesh Karthik) hasn’t done badly either… Both, therefore, are in the T20I squads which we announced late on Friday,” Prasad told The Telegraph which he had previously said in the first presser following the squad announcement.
When asked if MS Dhoni was aware of the decision, Prasad replied, “Oh yes… Yes. I myself spoke to MS and I must say he was most gracious. I explained our need to look at a second ’keeper and MS graciously supported the idea.”
Here is what Virat Kohli said about MS Dhoni
“I think the selector has already explained what happened and I don’t think I need to sit here and explain it more. I wasn’t a part of that conversation but it is not what people are making out of it. I can assure you that he [Dhoni] is still a very integral part of this team and it was only about giving chance to others.
The selector felt that in T20 format, Rishabh Pant can be given a chance, he [Dhoni] anyway plays ODIs for us regularly. It was about giving chances to a youngster and it has nothing to do with what people are thinking and I as a captain can certainly assure you that,” Kohli said at the post-match press conference.
