"He has lost a bit of fitness and he is past his prime" ex-player and selector Roger Binny on MS Dhoni's chances of coming back to international cricket
Former all-rounder and World Cup-winner Roger Binny, on Friday opined that former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was past his prime and had lost a 'bit of his fitness' too.
In an exclusive live chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda's Facebook page, the former allrounder, when asked if MS Dhoni will stage a comeback in international cricket, did not sound too optimistic.
"He (MS Dhoni) has lost a bit of fitness. There are younger players coming through the system. He was good enough to pass on the gloves to the younger players which is good of him but yeah, I think he is past his best" said Roger Binny.
Roger Binny, while considering the last two seasons MS Dhoni had played in, asserted that he had indeed lost the spark.
"Seeing him the last couple of seasons, he is easily past his best cricket which he has played, which we have seen him capable of doing." added Roger Binny.
Roger Binny simultaneously added that MS Dhoni himself was the right judge to take a call about his retirement.
He was feeling the pinch on the field: Roger Binny
Roger Binny was one of the selectors when MS Dhoni, out of the blue, retired from the longest format midway through the 2014 India-Australia Test match series. Youngster Virat Kohli had to take up the reins at the time and MS Dhoni's retirement came as a surprise to the nation. Roger Binny reflected on the episode and noted:
"I Think he was feeling the pinch on the field. After some time your body doesn't hear you and its your mind, the motivation...maybe he was having difficulty motivating himself at that point of time. It happens. As you get older, motivation levels drop and you can't really achieve those standards that you're capable of achieving," added Roger Binny.
Roger Binny further mentioned that MS Dhoni went back to his strength which was One-Day Cricket and T20 cricket, where he kept excelling.
When asked by Sportskeeda if he though MSD was the biggest all-rounder India had seen after Kapil Dev, the veteran of 27 Tests and 72 ODIs replied in the affirmative.
"Definitely, I think so, he was the person who could fit into any form of cricket. He wasn't a great wicketkeeper but he was a brilliant batsman and you could fit him anywhere." iterated Roger Binny.
MS Dhoni will be back on the cricket field donning the CSK colors in September after being last seen in the heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss against New Zealand. MS Dhoni hasn't played a single game since then.