MSK Prasad says that there was no pressure on MS Dhoni to step down as captain

What’s the Story?

The chairman of the selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) MSK Prasad bashed the rumours about Mahendra Singh Dhoni being asked to step down as captain by saying that there was no pressure on the former captain to resign from his post.

"There was no pressure on Dhoni to resign from captaincy. It was his personal decision. He informed me during the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Jharkhand and Gujarat in Nagpur," said Prasad in an exclusive interview with CricketNext.

In case you didn’t know...

Dhoni stepped down as the captain of India’s limited overs sides on January 4^th 2017, thus gathering a lot of speculation from fans and media around the country as to why he took the decision.

Just yesterday, the Bihar Cricket Association secretary Aditya Verma alleged that Dhoni was under pressure to give up captaincy and it wasn’t of his own volition. He claimed that Choudhary, who was unhappy with the fact that Jharkhand had lost under Dhoni’s mentorship asked MSK Prasad to ask Dhoni about his future plans, who in turn was upset with the whole episode, which led to him resigning from the post.

The heart of the matter

Prasad was in complete disagreement of the fact that Dhoni was asked to step down, and in fact, he felt that it was a good decision taken by the former captain so that India’s new captain Virat Kohli has enough time to take control of the side before the all important ICC Champions Trophy which is scheduled to be held in June this year.

What’s next?

India are set to face England in three One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals which begins on January 15^th at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune. While Kohli has been confirmed as the captain of the side, there is no confirmation about who will be his deputy. Dhoni has been selected in the 15 member squad for the ODIs as well as the T20Is.

Sportskeeda’s take

It seems unlikely that Dhoni, who is known for his calm and composed nature on and off the field would have stepped down after being upset with Choudhary’s comments. Just like MSK Prasad mentioned, it was a good decision taken by him and by resigning, he has given Kohli enough time to nurture the side ahead of the Champions Trophy.