Chairman of India’s senior selection panel MSK Prasad on Monday clarified that Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave up captaincy in the limited over format on his own and was not forced out.
Speaking to CricketNext, Prasad squashed reports that suggested that Dhoni was pressured into stepping down.
“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,” Prasad was quoted as saying.
Earlier, reports had stated that the process of handing over the captaincy to Virat Kohli was initiated in as early as September, with the focus on a roadmap leading up to the 2019 World Cup.
According to Times of India, Aditya Verma, the secretary of the Bihar Cricket Association had alleged that Dhoni had quit the captaincy after being pressurised about his “future cricketing plans”.
Verma cited “concrete sources” and claimed that Amitabh Choudhary, the joint secretary of the BCCI and the president of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association, was displeased that Jharkhand had lost to Gujarat in the Ranji semi-final, despite being mentored by Dhoni. He instructed Prasad to ask Dhoni about his future plans. Dhoni was supposedly hurt with the questioning and sent across his resignation.
As per the report, another point of contention between Choudhary and Dhoni was that the former India captain did not play the semi-final despite JSCA requesting him to do so.
Prasad had met with Dhoni in Nagpur during last week’s Ranji Trophy semi-final between Gujarat and Jharkhand, who were being mentored by the 35-year-old. Dhoni was supposed to be informed of the move, with the topic being discussed again during the Ranji game that led to him making the sudden announcement.