SHOCKING! Sandeep Patil and fellow selectors discussed removing MS Dhoni from captaincy

New Delhi: MS Dhoni, has been going through sort of a rough patch on-field and his captaincy has been under scrutiny for some time now.

Before announcing retirement from Test cricket, MS Dhoni's leadership was under question by the selectors reveals former chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil.

He said that during his tenure there has been discussions on removing Mahendra Singh Dhoni from captaincy but his retirement from Tests was a "shocker" for them.

"Of course, we had a brief discussion about it (removing Dhoni from captaincy) on a few occasions. We wanted to experiment by handing the baton (to somebody) but we thought the time was not right with World Cup (2015) round the corner," Patil told 'ABP News' today.

"We felt that new captain should be given some time to set things right. Keeping that in mind in the World Cup, we had gone with Dhoni. I believe Virat got the captaincy at the right time. Virat can lead the team in shorter formats as well but that decision rests with the new selection committee," said Patil, who completed his term only nine days back.

Patil termed Dhoni's decision to retire from Tests as "shocking" as the team was having a tough Test series Down Under.

"It was a very tough series. I won't say Dhoni was captain of a sinking ship but things quite didn't move in our favour. And in this backdrop, one of your senior players decides to retire. That was shocking but at the end of the day, it was his (Dhoni's) personal decision," he said.

(With PTI inputs)