"A Legendary Cricketer Like MS Dhoni Knows When To Retire," Says Chief Selector MSK Prasad

MS Dhoni had made himself unavailable from the month-long West Indies tour, ending the speculation surrounding his retirement for the time being. Following MS Dhoni's unavailability, chief selector MSK Prasad picked up Rishabh Pant in all three formats with Wriddhiman Saha making a comeback in the Test side for the West Indies tour. However, MSK Prasad refused to comment on MS Dhoni's retirement during the selection press conference in Mumbai on Sunday and said, a legend like him knows when to retire. He also said, the selectors can only create a road map for his future.

"See retirement is purely individual, a legendary cricketer like MS Dhoni, they know when to retire," MSK Prasad told reporters.

"But what is the future course of action, what is the road map we have to look at, its in the hands of selection committee," he added.

Dhoni had told the BCCI that he will take a two-month sabbatical from the game to serve his paramilitary regiment.

Speculation on Dhoni's future began ever since India's World Cup 2019 exit in the semi-finals, with his batting approach being questioned.

Dhoni played all the matches in the World Cup 2019, notching up two half-centuries, with a high score of an unbeaten 56.

During India's semi-final clash the decision to send MS Dhoni at No.7 after losing early wickets received a lot of criticism from former cricketers, with many calling it a "tactical blunder".

The 38-year-old, however, notched up a half-century in the semi-final batting lower-down the order and forged a 116-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja.

A veteran of 350 ODIs, Dhoni has accumulated 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57, with the high score of an unbeaten 183.