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Virender Sehwag has his say on MS Dhoni retirement rumours
MS Dhoni, whose finishing abilities with the bat has been on the wane,has been the centre of discussion amid speculation that the Jharkhand player is contemplating retirement even though he hasn’t spoken about it till now.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag believes that MS Dhoni should be allowed to decide when he wants to hang his boots and he added that it is the selectors’ responsibility to talk to the veteran wicket-keeper. “It should be left to MS Dhoni to decide when to hang his boots. The duty of the selectors is to reach out to Dhoni and inform him that he is no more being seen as India’s wicket-keeper batsman going forward. I wish the selectors had asked me as well about my plans so I would also have been able to inform them,” Sehwag said during a panel discussion.
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Sandeep Patil, the then chief selector, who was also on the panel, responded to the statement and said, “The responsibility to talk to Sachin about his future was given to me and Rajinder Singh Hans while the same responsibility was given to Vikram Rathore for Sehwag. We had asked him and he said he had spoken with Sehwag. But if Sehwag is saying that Vikram did not talk to him, I would like to take responsibility for the same.”
Sehwag immediately replied, “Vikram Rathore spoke to me after I was dropped. It would have made sense if he spoke to me before that. There’s no point talking to a cricketer once he is dropped. If MSK Prasad speaks to Dhoni after he is dropped, what would Dhoni say – that he would play first-class cricket and the selectors should pick him if he scores runs. The point is that the selectors should reach out to cricketers before they are dropped.”
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Dhoni, whose finishing abilities with the bat has been on the wane,has been the centre of discussion amid speculation that the Jharkhand player is contemplating retirement even though he hasn’t spoken about it till now.
Dhoni’s selection or omission from the squad for the upcoming tour of West Idnies would be an indicator of things to come in the future. India are set to play T20s, as many ODIs and two Tests in a full-fledged tour to the Caribbean islands, starting August 3.Considering next year’s T20 World Cup to be held in Australia, the selectors might opt for the young Rishabh Pant, who is seen as heir apparent to Dhoni.
(With agency inputs)
