Mumbai: While Virat Kohli’s name as India’s ODI and T20 skipper was formalised, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who stepped down from India’s limited-overs captaincy, was named India A skipper for the first warm-up game against England as the selectors on Friday picked the Indian squad for two warm-up games, three ODIs and three Twenty20s against Eoin Morgan-led side.
Taking about the decision to ask Dhoni to lead India A side in a game, MSK Prasad, chief selector of Team India, said,” Dhoni is the best guy to look after the youngsters. We all know what Mahi is all about. It is not about whether he has stepped down or not, he is a captain by nature and a leader from the front. That’s the reason why he led in Zimbabwe also.”
Dhoni’s decision to hang his captaincy shoes took the cricket world by surprise. Dhoni, who took up the Indian captaincy in 2007, led the Indian side for nine years. Prasad explained how Dhoni, who was with the Jharkhand side during their Ranji Trophy semifinal clash against Gujarat in Nagpur, arrived at the decision to step down.
“For the last four days (of the semifinal) I was there in Nagpur. He was very much a part of the Jharkhand team. He was a mentor and supporting the team. We spoke about how our team is moving ahead. But on the last day, he informed BCCI and also me since I am there, that he is quitting captaincy and it is time to move on,” Prasad said.
India A squad for 1st warm-up game against England:
Shikhar Dhawan, Mandeep Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (captain), Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Siddarth Kaul.
