Dhoni may not be an automatic choice anymore

Questions have been asked about MS Dhoni's retirement for a long time now and the voices have become louder after India crashed out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 with an 18-run defeat to New Zealand in the semi-final.

With the ICC T20 World Cup to be conducted next year from Oct.18 in Australia, the selectors have already started thinking about a probable squad for the tournament. Former captain Dhoni's place in the team is proving to be a headache for the selectors.

Dhoni’s career is all but over, according to a Times Of India report. MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, is expected to talk to the wicketkeeper-batsman soon about his future.

“We’re surprised that he’s not done it so far," a well-placed source in the board was quoted as saying to TOI. "There are youngsters like Rishabh Pant waiting to grab their chances. As we saw in the World Cup, Dhoni isn’t the same batsman anymore. Despite coming in at No. 6 or 7, he was struggling to force the pace, and it was hurting the team,”.

“I don’t think he’s in the selectors’ plans for the 2020 T20 World Cup too. He must quit international cricket gracefully. He isn’t an automatic pick any more,” said the source.

The selectors will pick the squad for the upcoming West Indies tour on July 19 and it will be interesting to see what decision they take about Dhoni's future in the blue jersey.