Former India captain MS Dhoni’s future has been the topic of discussion since the ICC Cricket World Cup finished in July.
The 38-year-old added to the chatter when he took a two-month break from competitive cricket after the ICC tournament in the UK, missing out on the West Indies tour and the home series against South Africa.
However, the decision to retire lies entirely on the World Cup-winning skipper, said his former teammate Yuvraj Singh, adding that the speculation surrounding the wicketkeeper-batsman is “unfair”.
“I think it’s unfair to him. The guy (Dhoni) has done so much for Indian cricket. He has been the most successful Indian captain, so you got to give him time,” Yuvraj said here on the sidelines of ‘The Sports Movement’ summit organized by India On Track.
“He needs to decide when he wants to go out. He needs to take that call. If he wants to still play, that’s his call and we need to respect that,” he added.
Yuvraj, who retired from international cricket in June this year at the age of 37, said it would be difficult to fill in Dhoni’s gloves when he decides to call it a day.
He also said that it is not fair to compare young Rishabh Pant with a veteran cricketer like Dhoni.
“It took a lot of years to become MS Dhoni and it will take a lot of years for Rishabh Pant to go close to him,” Yuvraj said.
“MS Dhoni’s replacement is going to take a lot of time.”
Dhoni has played 350 ODIs for India and appeared in 98 T20Is. Dhoni had last played for India on July 10 when the Men in Blue lost to New Zealand in the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup in England.
