MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant (Reuters photo)

MUMBAI: The final word on the immediate and long-term future of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is out. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who played his fourth and final 50-over World Cup in England, will not travel to the West Indies.

Dhoni, who was widely expected to retire after the World Cup, has made himself unavailable for the three ODIs and three T20Is in the Caribbean and will keep it that way for a certain period of time. Thereafter, he will participate in a “transitioning phase” in Indian cricket .

Sources told TOI, “MS will not go to the West Indies. Going forward, he will not travel with the team within India or overseas as the first-choice wicketkeeper. Rishabh Pant will take over and there will be a grooming window for him until he settles down. During this time, MS will help in the transition. For all you know, he could be part of the 15 but not part of the 11. This team needs a guiding hand on multiple fronts and wishing MS away is clearly unhealthy”.

Those in the know of developments say Dhoni doesn’t have to be told that he needs to go. “He’s already proved himself to be the kind of guy who preferred ‘why’ more than ‘when’ where his career graph is concerned. He’ll go, but what’s the hurry?” say sources.

The national selection committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to pick the team for the West Indies tour.

Dinesh Karthik, senior to Pant and 34 going on 35 right now, will continue to be part of the team depending on how the selectors see him fit. The Tamil Nadu cricketer, who was part of India’s World Cup strategy primarily as the second-choice wicketkeeper and played the last couple of matches as batsman owing to injuries to certain players, will not be Dhoni’s replacement in the larger context.

“Pant will be 22 this October. There’s a World T20 scheduled in Australia by the time he turns 23. He’s shown the right potential and also has some work to do. A year is a good time to undergo that transition,” sources said.

Those tracking developments say Dhoni will not want to retire from the game because he’s got another year at Chennai Super Kings . Fresh player contracts in IPL were signed by franchises in 2018 for a three-year term, during which franchises also retained their star cricketers on similar terms. “MS can’t just walk away like that. The Super Kings ride on him and he’s the franchise’s backbone. Not just the Indian team, he has to oversee a transition there too. After all, it’s been more than a decade-long association with them,” say those within the IPL fraternity.

