Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni resigned from captaincy in early 2017, leaving the country shell-shocked. Following his decision, the BCCI appointed Virat Kohli as the successor of him to lead India across formats.
However, there were reports suggesting that MS Dhoni was rather forced to quit captaincy than to take-up a decision all by himself. Speaking to cricketnext MSK Prasad, who led the selection committee has put the speculations to rest saying he has no role to play in his decision to step down from the captaincy and that he was informed by him during the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Gujarat and Jharkhand about his call.
“There was no pressure on Dhoni to resign from captaincy. It was his personal decision. He informed me during the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Jharkhand and Gujarat in Nagpur.”
He further claimed the decision didn’t come as a surprise and with Virat Kohli progressing at the moment, it was right on Dhoni’s part to carry forward the baton to Virat, and ask him to lead India. He, however, believes that Dhoni’s job is not over yet as he is there to guide Kohli to understand the parameters of captaincy.
With the Champions Trophy coming up, it would be nice for Kohli to have few One Dayers under his sleeves.
“Dhoni is an honest man and the decision didn’t come as a surprise. It was timed perfectly as Virat Kohli needs enough matches to settle down going into the Champions Trophy. I thank Dhoni for his contribution, but his job doesn’t end here and he needs to guide Kohli”, he concluded.