Mumbai: Putting an end to the speculations on his future as captain of the Indian team, limited-over skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said that it is for the BCCI to take a call on the matter.
"It's not that I don't enjoy the game, this decision will be taken by the BCCI, it's not up to me to decide on that," said Dhoni in the press conference before the team's departure for a limited-overs series against Zimbabwe starting June 11.
Dhoni was responding to former Team Director Ravi Shastri's recent comment backing Test captain Virat Kohli to lead the country in all formats of the game. Shastri had said that Dhoni should be allowed to enjoy the game free of captaincy.
Dhoni retired from Test cricket after the drawn Melbourne match against Australia in December 2014. He, however, continued to lead the team in the shorter formats of the game.
India’s recent defeats in ODI series against Bangladesh, South Africa and Australia, followed by an unsuccessful ICC World T20 campaign at home have sparked a debate on whether it is Dhoni to leave the throne and handover the captaincy to Virat Kohli.
Guarded on queries regarding his own future, Dhoni answered quite elaborately when asked about the kind of person he would like to see as India's next coach.
Dhoni said the new coach should have a good understanding of the culture here even if he is not too fluent in Hindi, a criteria listed by the BCCI in its advertisement for applicants.
"Communication is not a big problem. We have seen English is not a big barrier with new players. I feel talking in Hindi can be a criterion, but should not be the only criteria. The best man should be selected," said Dhoni.
"We keep playing a lot. We have to see the best option and one of the most important thing is whoever understands our culture and upbringing, more than English or Hindi. We have seen whoever we consider as best in the past has understood our culture," he said.
Dhoni said motivating himself to play for the country, which will be engaged in Test cricket for most of this year, has never been a problem and the most important factor was fitness.
(With PTI inputs)
