15-member Indian T20 squad for South Africa series was announced on Thursday by MSK Prasad led selection committee and biggest shock came with the ouster of MS Dhoni from the team, who was available for selection after returning from army duty in Kashmir. Dhoni was expected to quit International cricket after India’s shocking loss to New Zealand in World Cup finals, but he stayed back on the advise of Virat Kohli.
He made himself unavailable for the West Indies tour, following his army commitments. He was expected to return for the South Africa series but his exclusion have raised few eyebrows.
However, a report in India Today says that chief selector MSK Prasad confirmed that Dhoni himself expressed his unavailability for the Proteas series. “Yes he was unavailable for selection,” Prasad was quoted as saying.
India will play SA in three T20Is in Dharamsala, Mohali, and Bengaluru between September 15 and 22.
Fans in shock
Ardent Dhoni fans are in shock following the move by Dhoni. They are confused as why the former captain is making himself unavailable despite knowing that he does not have much time left in International cricket. They believe that there is no way forward for him in T20’s as Rishabh Pant will get a nod over him.
Former India International Aakash Chopra said in a tweet that Dhoni won’t be available before December. India will play three match test series after the conclusion of T20 series against South Africa. Its worth mentioning that, Dhoni has allready retired from test cricket in 2014.
India will next play Bangladesh in three match T20 series against Bangladesh in November and then the three match T20 series. The men in blue will square off against West Indies in December for a three match T20 series followed by a three match ODI series.
