Chief selector still can't comment when Dhoni will return to play for India

The uncertainity that looms large over the future of former India captain MS Dhoni has further aggravated on Monday as chief selector MSK Prasad refrained from commenting on his comeback as he was still not considered for selection for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and Australia in January and February due to his unavailability.

"I cant say or comment anything about that right now," was the exact answer of the chief selector when asked whether MS Dhoni will be available any time soon to play for the country.

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'Let him first play cricket'

BCCI sources indicated that the question of Dhoni's selection comes only once he starts playing at the domestic level. "Dhoni has not played cricket since World Cup in July. Let him first play cricket (at the domestic level) then only the selectors are likely to consider him for selection on his form."

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Regarding rest of the team selected for the upcoming series, Prasad said Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan were included in place of Md Shami and Rohit Sharma who were rested for the Lanka series. Sanju Samson was taken as a back up keeper and opener while Mayank Agarwal has been dropped without getting an outing in the shorter version of the game. Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur are also included in the upcoming series.

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On continuing with inconsistent Rishabh Pant, Prasad said the selectors were still backing him for his phenomenal talent with the bat bit he really required improvement in his keeping. "There is a specialist wicket keeping coach who will start working with Rishabh to improve his keeping." He also informed that Deepak Chahar was not available till April due to a serious back injury. But he summed up in his own way: "We have enough back ups. Indian cricket need not to worry for next 6-7 years across all formats."

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