The Dhoni debate rages on

MSK Prasad, the BCCI chief selector, spent much of the press conference dealing with questions on MS Dhoni: What are his retirement plans? Why did he make himself unavailable? Had he been available, would you have picked him?

Prasad fielded it all with a 10-foot pole. “First of all he is not fit, so when he is fit and available, then we’ll see,” he first said, and when pushed further, added: “Retirement is purely individual. A legendary cricketer like MS Dhoni, they know when to retire.”

Dhoni, meanwhile, has reportedly decided to spend two months with his regiment in the Indian army, where he is an honorary Lieutenant Colonel. Initially, it was believed Dhoni would retire at the end of the World Cup, but does this protracted delay mean that stance has now changed? Clarity on his future is imperative to dismiss negative speculation.

Eye on the future

There were few big names back in the Test squad. Wriddhiman Saha, finally free of injury concerns, is in the set-up for the first time since January 2018, when he last played international cricket. Will the wicketkeeper return straight to the Test XI or has Rishabh Pant taken his slot? Perhaps not, if grooming Pant for the future is high on the agenda, as it seems to be.

R Ashwin is another player set to make a comeback. The off-spinner played just one match in Australia, having been injured for the remaining three, but he will join the squad alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja as specialist spinners. He has also been working on a new action in domestic cricket, so watch out for an appearance in the Caribbean.