Selectors need to talk to MS Dhoni on his future plans, feels former chief selector Kiran More

The MS Dhoni retirement saga has become an equivalent to ‘who will bell the cat’ narrative in Indian cricket. With the 38-year-old still not sharing his perspective on the idea of retirement, the selectors are in a tricky situation. Reports are doing the rounds that the wicketkeeper-batsman will no more be an automatic choice when it comes to picking the India squads for future series.

However, until the definite news about Dhoni’s future plans is confirmed, one supposes the selectors are not having a peaceful sleep at night. The cricketing fraternity was hoping that Dhoni would call it quits as soon as India’s campaign in the World Cup got over in the semi-final. The stage was set as emotions ran high with the former captain getting run-out while making a last-ditch effort to take his country to another final.

But it remained a story that lacked a conclusion from there. “When will Dhoni retire?” The question persists. The selectors will pick the Indian squad for the West Indies tour starting August 3 and the Dhoni question has remained a puzzle. Reports also surfaced meanwhile that the veteran has made himself unavailable for the Caribbean tour and will be helping the team undergo the transition from him to Rishabh Pant.

Ex-chief selector Kiran More, also a former India wicket-keeper, feels it is the selectors who need to do the job of talking to Dhoni about his future plans before taking a call on his future. It was also learnt that current chief selector MSK Prasad, also a former India keeper, will do the difficult job of having ‘make or break talks’ with Dhoni. But how far do all the theoretical talks reflect in reality will be interesting to be seen.

“However, you need to be careful and not create insecurity among players. When it comes to someone like Dhoni, you go and speak to him about his plans. You respect his decision and also convey to him what you feel is the way ahead for the team. Communication is very important,” More, who recently has been appointed as the interim coach of the United States cricket team, said.

Courage and conviction key says Vengsarkar

Another former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar feels the selectors have to take a bold step forward even though dropping a senior player is always a risky thing to do, especially in a country like India where cricketers have a mad fan-following.

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“Well, you have to have the courage and conviction. It’s the job of the selectors to review performances and draw a roadmap for the future,” Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by Times of India.