One of the most loved and scrutinised cricketers to have ever been born in India - Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the perfect story for every small town boy/girl who wants to make it big in life. Hailing from the cricketing backwaters - Jharkhand, Dhoni is unarguably the second most popular player in the cricket frenzy nation after 'God' Sachin Tendulkar. Going by the statistics, Dhoni is India's most successful captain and under his leadership, India have won the top prize in all formats of the gentlemen's game - the inaugural World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007, No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, and the 50-over World Cup in 2011 in Mumbai. He is also the first captain in the world to win three different ICC trophies. Dhoni also led India to a memorable 2013 Champions Trophy triumph in England. During his now more than 14-years long international career, Dhoni has played an integral part in many of India's famous victories. For his impressive match-winning skills, the veteran batsman has also been christened with the tag of 'one of the best finishers in the sport', especially in the limited-overs format. However, with age catching up - Dhoni's batting abilities are on the wane but his electric reflexes and impeccable instincts behind the stumps still make him an indispensable asset to Team India. With the countdown of the 2019 ICC World Cup already started, India still needs the services of one of its biggest stalwarts who is responsible for taking the team to insurmountable heights.
Read MoreThe veteran wicketkeeper-batsman had made himself unavailable for the West Indies tour where India will be playing three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches beginning August 3.
Sachin Tendulkar's famous jersey No.10 has already been "unofficially retired" by the BCCI from white-ball cricket after pacer Shardul Thakur wore it briefly and was heavily trolled on social media.
The Supreme Court has observed that Amrapali home buyers' money has been diverted illegally and wrongly to Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd, a company promoted by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya will be a part of the T20I squad for the upcoming tour to the West Indies.
MS Dhoni himself still hasn't announced anything yet and Azharuddin feels that a player of his stature should be taken into confidence by the selectors and should make his own decisions.
MS Dhoni made himself unavailable for the West Indies tour as he wanted to serve his regiment during the next two months.
Rishabh Pant is being groomed to be India's next all-formats wicketkeeper but another year of MS Dhoni could stop him in the tracks before the important 2020 T20 World Cup.
MS Dhoni wanted to skip the West Indies tour and train with a territorial army battalion of the Parachute regiment for two months and therefore, requested the Indian Army to allow him.
MS Dhoni, an honorary Lt. Col of the Territorial Army's 106th Battalion (Para), had decided to take a two-month break to serve with his army regiment.
Dhoni opted out of India's tour of West Indies and it was understood that it is perhaps the end of the road for the former World Cup-winning captain.
With Dhoni pulling out of the tour, Rishabh Pant is expected to be first wicketkeeper in all three formats while Wriddhiman Saha will be Pant's understudy in the Tests.
Dhoni's longtime friend Arun Pandey spilt the beans on the wicketkeeper-batsman's future with the Indian cricket team.
Amidst the speculations around MS Dhoni's retirement, former national selector Sanjay Jagdale has said that the former Indian captain is mature enough to take a decision.
A reason behind the postponement of the meeting which was supposed to be held on Friday was also the directive of the CoA that stated that the chairman of the panel instead of the BCCI secretary, will convene it.
Gautam Gambhir feels MS Dhoni invested in the future as a skipper by demanding younger players and it is now time that "practical decisions" are taken with regards to him.
There is intense speculation that Dhoni, who has already retired from the Test format, has played his last ODI following India's semifinal exit from the World Cup.
Dhoni's selection or omission from India's squad that will travel to the Caribbean would be an indicator of things to come in the future.
The future of MS Dhoni will be the biggest talking point as the selection panel finalizes the limited-overs squads for the tour to the West Indies.
MS Dhoni's retirement has been a constant source of debate, and his childhood coach Keshav Banerjee has made a big revelation.
Skipper Kohli and pace spearhead Bumrah are expected to be rested for the limited-overs leg comprising three T20s and as many ODIs before returning for the two-Test series starting August 22.
Top News
Trending News
Latest News