Shastri rubbishes Dhoni speculations

London: Team India coach Ravi Shastri on Thursday dismissed all speculation on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement.

Shastri's comments came after social media on Wednesday was abuzz with speculation that the 2011 World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni will soon retire from all formats of the game. 

Dhoni was seen taking the match ball from the umpires at the end of the third one-day international against England at the Headingley cricket ground in Leeds on Tuesday, and Twitter went on overdrive as fans began to wonder about the significance of the move.

"That's rubbish. MS is not going anywhere," Shastri said. Shastri said Dhoni took the ball from umpire to show it to bowling coach Bharat Arun.

ismissing the speculation, Shastri said, "MS wanted to show the ball to Bharat Arun. He wanted to show him the wear and tear the ball had endured, to get a general idea of what the conditions were like."

"But right now, this clamour is nonsense. He just wanted to show the ball to Arun to just have a look at it after close to 45 overs had been bowled," Shastri said.

Dhoni, who announced his retirement from Tests in 2014, has played 321 ODIs and 93 T20Is. In 321 ODIs, Dhoni has scored 10,046 runs at an average of 51.25. He has 10 centuries and 67 fifties to his name.

Dhoni has amassed 1487 runs in 93 T20Is at an average of 37.17, including two half-centuries. 

Recently, Dhoni added another feather to his illustrious cap as he became the fourth Indian and 12th overall in ODI history to score 10,000 runs. 

The former India skipper achieved the milestone during second ODI against England at Lord's.