Team India’s Marquee Player, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is left out of the recently announced Squad for South African Series. Young Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is given a place. This gave rise to speculations that the Selection Committee already started looking beyond Dhoni for the coming World Cup.
Chief Selector, MSK Prasad explained the reason behind the move. “MS Dhoni recently completed his Army duty and is on a Personal Trip to The United States. So, we had to look at other options, MSK Prasad said. He did not make it clear if Dhoni himself asked the Selectors not to pick him for the Series.
It is very unlikely that a player will ignore a Series with South Africa and go on a Personal Trip. It looks like Team India has started looking beyond MS Dhoni. Many expected Dhoni to hang his boots after India’s World Cup campaign but it did not happen. Now, there is uncertainty over his career going further.
The three-match T20I series against South Africa begins on September 15 in Dharamsala with subsequent games in Mohali (September 18) and Bengaluru (September 22). This will be followed by a three-Test series beginning on October 2.
