Exasperated by the never-ending speculations around his retirement, India’s limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Sunday that being questioned about it at every platform will not change his plan to continue playing for a “considerable period” of time.
“If I say something one month or 15 days back, the answer does not change. It’s irrespective of where I’m being asked. The answer remains the same. It’s as simple as what is your name and I will say MS Dhoni. It will remain the same for a considerable period of time unless you give me a new format,” Dhoni told reporters here ahead of the team’s departure for the Asia Cup T20 in Bangladesh.
Dhoni, on Friday, made it clear that he was not retiring from international cricket anytime soon.
“There will be questions, you send me letters or requisitions. If you have the freedom, it’s not right to ask all types of questions. It’s very important to judge everything as to what needs to be done, why it needs to be done. Because somebody has the platform to ask questions, it does not mean that you keep on asking the same questions. It’s a world today where everything is covered by media,” an irritated Dhoni said on the oft-repeated query of his retirement.
He added, “Anything happens questions are raised in India. If we win the World T20 very comfortably, then questions will be asked whether we have peaked too early. If we lose the final, then we will be asked whether we will be able to take the pressure of a final.
“If we don’t qualify then there will be questions will be raised on whether we’re good enough to handle pressure at home. I don’t think I cannot really stop people from asking the questions. If better questions are raised, I will answer 100 per cent for sure,” Dhoni said.
Team India has already got into the groove with T20 series wins over Australia (3-0) and Sri Lanka (2-1) and Dhoni expressed satisfaction with the the preparation and said they’ve the right ingredients to do well in the Asia Cup.
“The good thing is we played three games in Australia, yes the conditions were very different in Australia, then we played in Sri Lanka. It gave us the time to settle into the format. You’ve to take the price tag away from the wicket. It’s always easier to switch from T20 to Test format than from Test to T20. It’s good for us that we are getting these number of games. We can try a few things since it’s the same format.
The Indian skipper said they would look to give everyone a chance in the Asia Cup .
“We will try to give everybody a game. It’s something that is as important as to play as a settled team. It’s important to give everyone a game under their belt but we will look to win the games and that’s our top priority,” he said.