Cricket

MS Dhoni not to travel with Indian team for series vs West Indies; not available for selection as per reports

Gurpreet Singh
|PublishedJul 17, 2019

MS Dhoni decides not to travel West Indies; to serve his army regiment for next two months

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JULY 10: MS Dhoni of India bats during resumption of the Semi-Final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between India and New Zealand after weather affected play at Old Trafford on July 10, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

MS Dhoni not to travel with Indian team for series vs West Indies; has made himself unavailable for selection as per recent reports

Ever since India’s semi-final exit from the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, the discussions, debates, speculations, conjectures and everything associated even with his post retirement plans have become one of the burning issues across the Indian Cricket fraternity.

As per reports surfaced a couple of days ago, the Indian selectors are awaiting for Dhoni to hang his boots from International cricket. “We’re surprised that he’s not done it so far. There are youngsters like Rishabh Pant waiting to grab their chances. As we saw in the World Cup, [MS] Dhoni isn’t the same batsman anymore. Despite coming in at No. 6 or 7, he was struggling to force the pace, and it was hurting the team,” a source close to the BCCI was quoted as saying.

ALSO READ: How much money were Indian Team players awarded during 1983 World Cup?

Now, the recent reports clear the mist surrounding his future plans a bit more.

“Dhoni has made himself unavailable for the tour of West Indies”- BCCI source

As per a report in Times of India, Dhoni has made himself unavailable for the tour of West Indies, where the Indian team will take part on three T20Is and three ODIs. Also, he is expected to be a part of the transition phase which will see a new player take up his role.

“MS will not go to the West Indies. Going forward, he will not travel with the team within India or overseas as the first-choice wicket-keeper. Rishabh Pant will take over and there will be a grooming window for him until he settles down,” a BCCI was as quoted by Times of India.

“For all you know, he could be part of the 15 but not part of the 11. This team needs a guiding hand on multiple fronts and wishing MS away is clearly unhealthy,” the source further added.

Apart from young Rishabh Pant, there is also his senior pro- Dinesh Karthik, who has not quite got the number of opportunities he would have liked to, in order to stake his claim in the side. Thus, his further availability in the side is solely based on the Team selectors’ discretion as to which role do they wish to see him play in the side.

About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.