Thirvananthapuram: India captain Virat Kohli Thursday reiterated that MS Dhoni remains an integral part of the ODI team and the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman decided not to play the upcoming T20s only to make way for the much younger Rishabh Pant.
“I think the selectors have already addressed this if I’m not wrong. And he’s been spoken to, firstly… So, I don’t see any reason why I should be sitting here and explaining that. I think the selectors have come out and explained exactly what happened,” said Kohli at the post-match press conference after guiding India to another series win at home.
“I was not part of that conversation so… It is what the selectors explained. I think people are putting too much variables into the situation, which is not the case I can assure you of that. He’s still a very integral part of this team and he just feels that in the T20 format, someone like Rishabh can get more chances.”
Dhoni has been dropped for the upcoming T20 series against the West Indies and Australia and there is a possibility that he never plays for India again in the shortest format.
“He anyway plays the ODIs for us regularly, so… From that point of view, he’s only trying to help the youngsters; nothing that anything that other people are thinking and I as captain can certainly assure you of that,” Kohli said.
Ambati Rayudu’s batting at No.4 and young Khaleel Ahmed’s emergence as the third seamer were the two biggest gains from the ODI series, feel Virat and head coach Ravi Shastri.
“Rayudu has taken responsibility at No.4. He played his role wonderfully well. This is one of the areas we were looking for to improve,” said Kohli said.
Meanwhile, Shastri praised Khaleel, saying, “The left-arm fast bowlers can be very handy. Khaleel is raw, he doesn’t have the experience but he has the variations and has the aggression too. Once he adds to his speed, he will be more than effective.”