Team India coach Ravi Shastri cleared the air over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future in Team India colours ahead of the second Test versus South Africa in Pune.
Dhoni, who has been absent from the side since the 2019 World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand, is on a break and previous reports suggested that he is set to be available for selection from November.
However, speculations have continued regarding his retirement have continued but Shastri isn't drawn into it and said that if Dhoni is keen to play, he will be considered.
"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.
Team India skipper Virat Kohli also opened up on Dhoni's future ahead of the South Africa series and said that the team management and Dhoni are on the same page and Dhoni is still worried about Indian cricket.
"Look experience is always going to matter whether you like it or not. I mean there are a numerous number of times people have given up on sportsmen, and they have proved people wrong, and he has done that many times in his career as well. So one great thing about him is that he thinks for India cricket.
"And whatever we think, he is on the same page. The alignment is there. The kind of mindset he has had is to groom youngsters and give them opportunities, and he is still the same person," Kohli said.
Dhoni has been in New York and enjoying time away from the game during the break currently.
