'It's all about how he performs in IPL' - Anil Kumble opens up on MS Dhoni's future with Team India

Former India skipper and head coach Anil Kumble believes that MS Dhoni’s future in international cricket will depend on how he performs next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). There is absolutely no clarity on MS Dhoni’s future as he continues to remain away from the hustle and bustle of international cricket.

The former India skipper has not played a competitive game since the end of the World Cup in July this year. As soon as the World Cup ended, he surprised everyone by taking a sabbatical from the game and thus missed the tour of West Indies. He was expected to return to action at the start of the home season but things panned out in an expected manner.

While Dhoni remained away from the sport, chief selector MSK Prasad stated that the selectors are moving on from the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman. Consequently, Dhoni missed the series against South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies and is also not a part of the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka and the ODI assignment against Australia.

India will visit New Zealand in February and Dhoni is very unlikely to be a part of the touring squad. And as the cricketing fraternity awaits to learn the fate of the World Cup-winner, Anil Kumble believes the next IPL could be decisive in determining the future of his former teammate.

“It’s all about how MS (Dhoni) goes about the IPL and if at all the Indian team believes that they need these services for the World Cup, then from there on he may be a part of the team. But we will have to wait and see,”  Anil Kumble told CricketNext.

‘You need wicket-taking bowlers’: Anil Kumble

In the last few months, India have surprisingly experimented with a number of spinners in order to provide depth to the batting lineup. However, Anil Kumble is not impressed with the idea and believes that the team should stick with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal since they are wicket-taking bowlers.

“I certainly believe that you need wicket-taking bowlers and someone like a Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal needs to be a part of that in my view. Yes, there are instances where you know the ball gets wet because of the dew, then is it right for two wrist-spinners to be there,” he said.

“It is very important that you need to start looking out for wicket-taking options. If it means that you need to bring in just fast bowlers who you believe will pick up wickets, rather than looking at all-rounders, which I think this team is looking for; I think that’s the critical aspect,” added Anil Kumble.

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