MS Dhoni quit under pressure from BCCI joint secretary, alleges Aditya Verma

RANCHI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's resignation as captain of India's ODI and T20 International squads "was not spontaneous but under pressure", Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) secretary Aditya Verma alleged on Sunday.

Verma, who was in Ranchi, claimed that 'a hurt' captain cool quit captaincy after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked him of his "future cricketing plans" after being pressurized by the BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary.

Verma alleged that Choudhary telephoned BCCI's chief selector MSK Prasad in the evening of January 4 and asked the latter to seek Dhoni's future plans after Jharkhand went down to Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy semifinal clash in Nagpur the same evening. Dhoni was at the sidelines of the Ranji Trophy game as Jharkhand's mentor.

Citing 'concrete sources', Verma told TOI, "Choudhary was unhappy with the fact that Jharkhand lost to Gujarat despite being in a commanding position under Dhoni's mentorship.

"Choudhary then telephoned MSK Prasad and instructed the latter to ask the cricketer about his future plans. Dhoni was hurt with the whole episode and sent across his resignation soon after," Verma said.

Verma alleged that the differences between Dhoni and Choudhary (who was also the president of Jharkhand State Cricket Association till January 2) stemmed from the fact that the former refused to play the semi-final game despite JSCA's request.

TOI could not speak to Amitabh Choudhary till late on Sunday evening.

Dhoni on January 4 had shocked the cricketing fraternity after he sent across his resignation from India's limited overs' captaincy in an email to the BCCI.