'The T20Is here and in Australia, he (MS Dhoni) is not going to play, because we are also looking at a second wicket-keeper," MSK Prasad said at a press conference after the selection meeting in Pune
Pune: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was dropped from the Indian T20I squads for the home series against the West Indies and also for the Australian tour.
On Friday night, the BCCI selection committee, led by MSK Prasad, rested regular captain Virat Kohli for the T20I matches against the Windies and handed over the captaincy reins to Rohit Sharma.
Also read: Rohit Sharma back in India Test squad for Australia tour
The biggest surprise was the omission of Dhoni. However, Prasad hinted that this was not the end of his T20I career. He stated that "it is not the end of Dhoni in T20Is".
"The T20Is here and in Australia, he (Dhoni) is not going to play, because we are also looking at a second wicketkeeper," Prasad said at a press conference after the selection committee meeting in Pune.
"That will be between Rishabh and Dinesh Karthik. So they will be getting a chance to keep and bat," he added.
The 37-year-old Dhoni has so far played 93 T20Is. He led India to the inaugural World T20 title win in South Africa in 2007, after making his T20I debut in 2006.
In recent times, Dhoni's batting in limited overs has come under scrutiny and with the emergence of Rishabh Pant, there was pressure on the selectors to take a call.
India have picked two wicket-keepers in Pant and Dinesh Karthik. Also, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem has been included for the series against the West Indies.
India and West Indies will play three T20Is on November 4 (Kolkata), 6 (Lucknow) and 11 (Chennai). The Australia T20Is are on November 21 (Brisbane), 23 (Melbourne) and 25 (Sydney).
India squad for T20I series against Windies
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem.
India squad for T20I series against Australia
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed.
Team for three T20I match series against Windies announced
Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar, KL Rahul, DK, Manish, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem
Team for three T20I match series against Australia announced.
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit (vc), Shikhar, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish, DK, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel
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