There was no pressure on Dhoni to resign: MSK Prasad

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni stepped down from his position of limited-overs captain last week and while he was lauded all over for the timely and brave call there was a section of media that reported it to not be Dhoni’s decision. It suggested that the selectors had nudged him and that led to the eventual announcement. But the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has rubbished all such reports and rumors and termed them baseless.

He said there was no pressure whatsoever on the skipper from the selectors and the team management. It was his own decision and Dhoni conveyed it to him during their interaction in Nagpur amidst the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Jharkhand and Gujarat. Speaking exclusively to CricketNext, Prasad said, “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 further praised the most successful Indian skipper, he thanked him for his contribution to Indian cricket but said he still has a task in hand to mentor Kohli into the role and ensure the best for the team. “Dhoni is an honest man and the decision didn’t come as a surprise. It was timed perfectly as Kohli needs enough matches to settle down going into the Champions Trophy. I thank Dhoni for his contribution, but his job doesn’t end here and he needs to guide Kohli.” Prasad said.

Though he will no longer lead the Indian team Dhoni will captain the India A team in the first warm-up match against England at the CCI in Mumbai and since it might be his last game as the skipper a lot of preparations are underway. The CCI also asked BCCI to arrange for a live broadcast of the game which will be played on January 10 and starts and 9:00 am IST.

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