We miss Dhoni, no one sits on his seat in team bus: Chahal

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been on a seemingly never-ending sabbatical from cricket since Team India's semifinal exit in the World Cup in July. There have been speculations on his retirement, which were fuelled by head coach Ravi Shastri's remarks on Dhoni, and his dropping from BCCI's central contract list. Even the former chairman of selectors, M.S.K. Prasad had said they had “moved on” from Dhoni.

But it seems that just like his die-hard fans, Team India is yet to move on from the former skipper. In a 'Chahal TV' video posted by BCCI, the host of the show, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, was seen talking about how much the team misses Dhoni.

Shot inside the team bus on the way from Auckland to Hamilton, the video shows Chahal sitting beside the empty corner seat at the back of the bus, and saying, “Yeh woh seat hai jaha ek legend baitthe the. Mahi bhai (M.S. Dhoni). Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baittha. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (A legend used to sit here. M.S. Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot).”

According to Shastri, Dhoni might still be considered for the T20 World Cup squad later this year, if he performs well at the IPL 2020.

Team India has been in good form in T20Is, leading 2-0 in the ongoing five-match series against New Zealand. With K.L. Rahul continuing his brilliant form with the bat and as stand-in wicketkeeper, it will be tough for Dhoni, and even for regular wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant to break into the squad.

Dhoni is yet to make any statement on the rumours of his impending retirement.