Indian men’s cricket team is going on the tour to West Indies next month. The squad will be announced for the tour on 19th July 2019 for the series set to begin from 3rd August 2019 and everyone is focused on the future of former skipper M S Dhoni. The 38-year-old cricketer is expected to make an announcement on his retirement from limited over cricket in the coming few days. Dhoni’s future has been widely speculated after the recently concluded World Cup tournament. People are unable to digest the defeat in the semifinal match against New Zealand on 9th July.
According to a BCCI official “The selectors will meet in Mumbai on July 19. We have not heard from Dhoni but what is relevant is the communication between the player and selectors. If you ask me, Dhoni did well in the World Cup but he is his own man. Only he can decide whether he wants to carry on or not.”
Other than this, the availability of Captain Virat Kohli and Yorker-specialist Jasprit Bumrah is in question. Both the players are expected to be given rest from the limited-overs leg comprising three T20s and as many ODIs before returning for the two-Test series starting August 22. The five-day matches will be part of the inaugural World Test Championship. There is also no confirmation about Shikhar Dhawan joining the squad as he is still recovering from the thumb injury occurred during the World Cup tournament.
Earlier, former great players such as Sunil Gavaskar questioned the BCCI for allowing the likes of Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan to skip domestic cricket in the run-up to the World Cup. The first COA meeting held after the World Cup 2019 comprised of a three-member panel and CEO Rahul Johri, who joined in via video conferencing as he remains in London for the ICC meetings, discussed the issue of players picking and choosing games.
Another BCCI official commented, “The question arises that who is allowing the players to pick and choose? Are they taking the call themselves or are they duly informing the selectors? The general feeling is that there needs to better communication on this issue. You can’t pick and choose. Most World Cup-bound players played all games of the IPL and did not ask for rest back then.”
