Former Indian World Cup-winning cricketer (1983) and former chief selector of the Indian cricket team Sandeep Patil has lauded Indian cricketer MS Dhoni and assures that the 37-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman is not going to retire at present.
Though the former Indian World T20 (2007) and World Cup-winning captain (2011) MS Dhoni is still in a good touch, he played some slow knocks in the recent bilateral ODI series on the English soil that led him for some serious criticism.
Also read: MS Dhoni Opts To Play Football With Ishan Khatter
However, Sandeep Patil, who has worked with Dhoni very closely, assures that Dhoni is not retiring soon due to the criticism.
Patil wrote in his column in the Quint, “India lost the recent ODI series to England and the media latched onto the defeat to once again go after MS Dhoni.
“I have known him very closely for the last 14 years and I am privileged to have seen him when he was just starting his career. I have worked with him as an India A coach and as a chief selector, and he happens to be a very dear friend of mine now. I can assure all his fans that he is not retiring as of now.”
Also watch: How Ganguly Shaped The Careers Of Dhoni and Sehwag
Talking about Dhoni, Patil has also revealed that the experts and selectors also give importance of his wicketkeeping contributions, apart from being famous as a top finisher or Captain Cool.
Patil wrote on that, “Most of the people know Dhoni as either Captain Cool or as a top finisher. However, experts and selectors who have played this game will also give importance to the contributions made by Dhoni as a wicketkeeper.”
However, Patil has also clarified that the selectors can select or drop a player on his performance or fitness.
The 61-year-old wrote, “I have made it clear earlier and am making it clear once again that selectors have the right to select or drop a player on his performance and fitness.”
Also read: MS Dhoni is India’s most admired sportsperson
Though Dhoni has retired from the Test cricket in 2014 and also has given up his international cricket captaincy in 2016, he is still playing the limited-overs international crickets in good form. Patil believes that Dhoni is still the best Indian wicketkeeper at present.
Patil wrote on that, “Many people may not agree with me but I will still pick Dhoni as the first choice wicket-keeper for the World Cup next year. The reason simply is that in the shorter format of the game, Dhoni’s ability behind the stumps is of far more importance than his match-finishing skills.
“Dhoni has been above par behind the stumps for India for many years and he will try to do the same till he hangs his gloves.”
