The mystery surrounding Mahendra Singh Dhoni andhis future has been solved for now. The former India skipper has decided totake a two-month break and serve his army regiment after a gruelling IndiaPremier League season and the 2019 World Cup.
It is no secret that Dhoni had already made himselfunavailable for the tour of West Indies, but he has now informed the Board ofControl for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he is joining the Parachute Regimentof the Territorial Army.
Speaking to, sources in the know of developments said thatthe former India skipper has informed the BCCI of his plans and that this wasin no way to be considered a move towards retirement.
"He has had a long season where he played the IPL witha sore back and then also played in the World Cup with an injury and he feltthat it was important to take a break and come back fresh. With the selectorsset to meet in Mumbai on Sunday to pick the squad for the Windies series, hehas informed the board that he will be serving his army regiment for the nexttwo months. This has nothing to do with retirement," the source said.
Dhoni is an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the ParachuteRegiment of the Territorial Army. Earlier skipper Virat Kohli had made it clearthat the team management hadn`t heard anything from Dhoni on his future. Butthe former skipper has now sent across the message to all concerned.
In fact, while rumours were doing the rounds that Dhoniwould have called it quits after the World Cup, those close to him had made itclear that it was unlikely. With Dhoni now informing the board of thesabbatical, there is clearly more to come when it comes to Dhoni serving thenational team.
