MS Dhoni still auspicious for Indian team, Rishabh Pant in future plans: MSK Prasad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) chairman of selectors MSK Prasad believes MS Dhoni is still an asset to the Indian team and Prasad tagged him as the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world. A former wicketkeeper himself the selector further regarded Rishab Pant as ‘one for the futures’.

On being asked about Dhoni’s selection ahead of Pant despite his sluggish form in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Prasad dismissed the theory citing the former skipper’s experience and intelligence during the crunch situations of the game.

“How many of us still believe that MSD is still the best wicketkeeper in the world? We all believe he is still the best wicketkeeper in the world. We are only talking and focussing on his batting form,” said the Chairman of Selectors during the media interaction.

He further advocated Dhoni’s selection by stating that his presence in the team would guide Virat Kohli who is relatively inexperienced in the captaincy department. “He is an invaluable asset to the team and his inputs in crunch situations, he has got one of the best brains. He is the best person to guide Virat,” quoted Prasad. He later revealed that the Jharkhand lad has been the most consistent when it comes to glovework.

“Not many people realize, that in last 10-12 years, Dhoni has never had a bad day with the gloves. We always treat him as a batsman but the phenomenal stuff he does behind the wickets, not many people appreciate that. According to me, he is still the best wicketkeeper in world cricket.” remarked the chief of the selectors.

He further stated that it is only due to the combination of the side that Pant misses out of the Champions Trophy squad. “We are completely impressed by how Rishabh Pant is playing. It’s just combination because of which he missed out. He is one cricketer we are looking at for our future. He is definitely a solution for our future” added Prasad.

Indian squad for the Champions Trophy 2017:

Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey