Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday addressed MS Dhoni’s retirement rumours and said that the final decision can only be taken by the player on the matter. The wicketkeeper-batsman has not been a part of Indian team since the culmination of World Cup and it still remains to be seen whether the 37-year-old remains in the selector’s radar for the upcoming tournaments, after an insipid show at the World Cup.
On being questioned about Dhoni’s retirement speculations, Ganguly said that every player has to retire someday: “Every big player has to hang up his shoes. That’s sport. Look at football, Maradona had to quit. There hasn’t been a bigger player than him. Tendulkar, Lara, Bradman.. everyone had to quit. This is the way system has been and will be. So this scenario will come for MS as well,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.
The former batsman further said that Dhoni should evaluate himself if he can still win matches for India. “He is at that stage of his career where he has to evaluate where he stands. He has to decide if he can win matches for India. If he can continue to contribute like MS Dhoni, not someone else,” Ganguly said.
He further added: “Because with players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, until they play, there will be expectations that they will play like in this way and win matches in this fashion. I think Dhoni has to make this decision. Only a player knows how much fuel is left in the tank and how much of his match-winning ability is intact.”
The 47-year-old further said that India need to realise that Dhoni will not be playing forwver. “Indian cricket will have to get used to the fact that MS Dhoni won’t be playing forever and he won’t be around for too long. But I believe this decision has to be taken by Dhoni himself,” he said.
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