Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag reportedly stated that former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni should be given the choice to decide on when to retire. In a panel discussion on Times Now he was quoted as saying that the Indian wicket-keeper batsman should be informed by the selectors that he is no more being seen as India's wicket-keeper in future.
"It should be left to Dhoni to decide when to hang his boots. The duty of the selectors is to reach out to Dhoni and inform him that he is no more being seen as India's wicket-keeper batsman going forward," Sehwag told Times Now.
He also added that the selectors could have asked him when he was part of the Indian team before dropping him from the squad.
"I wish the selectors had asked me as well about my plans so I would also have been able to inform them," he added.
Former Indian player and chief selector Sandeep Patil who was also present in the discussion mentioned that he was given the responsibility to talk with Sachin Tendulkar about the latter's retirement.
He said, " The responsibility to talk to Sachin (Tendulkar) about his future was given to me and Rajinder Singh Hans while the same responsibility was given to Vikram Rathore for Sehwag. We had asked him and he said he had spoken with Sehwag. But if Sehwag is saying that Vikram did not talk to him, I would like to take responsibility for the same."
The Men in Blue crashed out of the ICC Cricket World Cup after losing the semi-final clash against New Zealand. The Indian middle-order succumbed to the pace bowling attack of the Kiwis. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja showed some resilience but could not win it for India. Throughout the tournament, Dhoni's performance had been criticised by many cricket fans and former cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar for scoring at a slow rate in most of the matches. The 37-year-old World Cup winner has made himself unavailable for India's upcoming West Indies tour and is expected to retire sometime soon.
