Leeds: Former India skipper and currently under-fire finisher for Team India M S Dhoni has not shared his thoughts of a possible retirement from International cricket with many people. It is obvious and a well known fact that for the 2011 World Cup-winning captain, the ongoing World Cup is his last. However, news of his plan to retire immediately after the tournament remains in the realms of speculation and being seen by most Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) members and cricket administrators as a mischievous attempt by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rahul Johri to put pressure on Dhoni to quit.
Dhoni is known to keep his own counsel and any plans to quit international cricket will be only be known to former BCCI president N Srinivasan to whom he is extremely close. Also knowing the way Dhoni operates he is likely to convey his decision first to the team management consisting of coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli. It is reliably learnt he has not discussed the retirement issue with the members of the Indian dressing room yet. Board members from Srinivasan camp told Manorama, “This is just CoA and CEO Rahul Johri’s way of trying to create pressure on Dhoni. They have no role in taking a call or asking Dhoni to take a call. Its entirely the players, team management and selectors’ domain.”
The BCCI officials may not be fully aware of his exact plans to call quit – simply because that is not Dhoni’s modus operandi. Even when he quit Test captaincy as well as ODI and T20I captaincy he had conveyed to Srinivasan and the team management. Selectors are expected to be told of any such decision by the team management. The team for the West Indies tour is expected to be announced post World Cup. India will play three T20Is , three ODIs and a two-Test series from July to August.
Dhoni reportedly has plans to take a four-week vacation in the US is with his wife and daughter straight after the World Cup.
