Days after MS Dhoni shocked the cricketing world by announcing that he was stepping down as India’s limited-overs captain, Bihar Cricket Association secretary Aditya Verma alleged and revealed some shocking reason behind Dhoni’s sudden decision.

In a very unusual turn of events, the BCA secretary, Aditya Verma has alleged that MS Dhoni was forced into stepping down as India’s captain. He alleged that Dhoni was under pressure to give up captaincy and it wasn’t of his own volition.

Verma blamed BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary for this matter. He 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.

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.

Also Read: Virender Sehwag About MS Dhoni After Stepping Down From Captaincy

What Actually Happened?

Verma mentioned that the BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary was miffed with Dhoni’s refusal to take part in the Ranji Trophy semi-final despite a request from Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA). Incidentally, Chaudhary was the president of the JSCA till 2nd January. MS Dhoni refused to play for Jharkhand in the semi-final against Gujarat. Dhoni, however, was present at Nagpur during the match as the unofficial mentor of the state team.

Aditya Verma said: “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”.

The truthfulness of the words can only be verified once Amitabh Chaudhary speaks on the issue. Interestingly, MS Dhoni himself never came to the media after his decision quitting captaincy.