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MS Dhoni 'unavailable' for West Indies tour, Rishabh Pant likely to keep wickets
A BCCI official on Saturday confirmed that MS Dhoni will not retire soon but is rather joining his paramilitary regiment. More details inside
Putting a stop to all speculations, a Board of Control for Cricket in India official confirmed on Saturday that MS is not retiring soon, however, he has made himself ‘unavailable for the upcoming West Indies tour, which means young Rishabh Pant might be keeping wickets for India in this long outing.
The former Indian skipper would be rather joining his paramilitary regiment,
"We would like to clarify three things. MS Dhoni is not retiring from cricket right now. He is taking a two month sabbatical to serve his paramilitary regiment which he had committed much earlier. We have now intimated his decision to skipper Virat Kohli and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad," a senior BCCI official told PTI on Saturday.
Soon after India’s exit World Cup, there have been talks about Dhoni’s future in international cricket. He was expected to hang his boots after the mega event, however, he has now decided not to.
India is now set to travel to the Caribbean for a long tour. The squad for the same will be announced on Sunday after selectors meeting in Mumbai. Talking about the selection, a BCCI official said,
"The selection committee has always been clear on one issue. They have no right to tell anyone irrespective of their stature as to when they should call it quits but when it comes to team selection, it remains their domain.”
There are reports of top players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, etc being rested for this tour. That means, quite a few new faces might get a go while Pant who was part of the World Cup squad is most likely to be India's stumper. He has contributed enough with the bat as well, hence making him a top choice going forward.
