Was Mahendra Singh Dhoni forced to step down from India's ODI, T20 captaincy?

Mumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni surprised millions after he decided to step down from Indian cricket team’s ODI and T20 captaincy last week.

Dhoni, who had led India to three ICC trophy triumphs – ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, ICC World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, captained India in 199 ODIs and 72 T20s. While cricketing fraternity is paying rich tributes to Dhoni, according to reports Captain Cool was forced to resign as India’s limited-overs skipper.

It was learnt that the process to ask Virat Kohli to take over India’s limited-over captaincy started in September 2016. MSK Prasad, chief selector of India, was in Nagpur during the Ranji Trophy semifinal clash between Jharkhad and Gujarat and he spoke to MS Dhoni.

While Prasad said it was Dhoni, who was in Nagpur as a mentor for his state team, who approached him with the decision to relinquish ODI and T20 captaincy after leading the side for over nine years, the recent reports speculate otherwise.

Prasad, while lauding Dhoni, had said: "Had Mahi taken the decision one year or even six months earlier, I would have been a bit worried. But I salute him for his sense of perfect timing. He knew that Virat is now a proven customer who has done exceptionally well as a leader in Test.

"So it is a correct decision by Dhoni. It showed that he had the best interest of Indian cricket in his mind," Prasad had told PTI.

A leading daily had also quoted Cricket Association of Bihar’s former secretary Aditya Verma saying that Dhoni resigned following pressure from BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary. It was indicated that he was not too happy with Jharkhand losing the semifinal and Dhoni refusing to play the match.