Reports: Dhoni dropped not rested, T20I career over

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's exclusion from Team India's T20I squad has been a hot topic of debate recently, with several theories floating around regarding his absence for the series against the West Indies and Australia.

According to a report in The Indian Express, MS Dhoni has been told that the selectors have decided to look beyond him as far as T20Is are concerned.

A BCCI source was quoted as saying: “The selectors before selection meeting had informed Dhoni through the team management that time has come to move on and give a chance to a younger player in the shortest format. Everyone knows that Dhoni might not carry on till 2020 T20 World Cup. Selectors felt the Indian board should start looking for Dhoni’s replacement from now on”.

The 37-year-old was not named in the two T20I squads that were announced on Friday, with the selectors including Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik as the two designated wicketkeepers in the side.

After the squads were announced, Chief of Selectors MSK Prasad had declared that the second wicket-keeper option was being looked at.

“Dhoni is not going to play the six T20s because we are looking at second wicket-keeper. So it will be between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik and they will get a chance,” he had said.

MS Dhoni hasn't had a particularly fruitful year with the bat, averaging 25.20 with the bat in ODIs, without a single fifty to his name. While his batting form has put the middle-order in a spot of bother, he is expected to retain his ODI spot for the World Cup next year, given his experience and ability to guide youngsters in crunch situations.

The same report states that while it could be curtains on his T20I career, he will continue to be part of the 50-over setup and the selectors have left it on Dhoni himself to decide.