There was news that MS Dhoni has agreed to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but only the knockout games. Even MSK Prasad, India's chief selector was confident that Dhoni is all set to play for Jharkhand in quarterfinals.

However, the Indian wicket-keeper batsman refused to be a part of the playing XI. He is with the team but in a non-playing capacity. 

Dhoni's reason to not play for Jharkhand in the last few games was the balance of the team. As per him, his inclusion in the side will affect the balance of the site who has done really well in the group stage matches. Jharkhand is the table toppers of their group.

The 37-year-old has been in really poor form lately and that hasn't helped the Indian team. His batting approach has made a negative impact in many games for India this year. Despite a powerful performance in Indian Premier League, Dhoni failed to persist with the same performance. 

The consistency faded and we saw how the Ranchi born struggled against England in the ODI series. Not only against the Englishmen, but Dhoni also failed to deliver in the Asia Cup 2018 even though he got the perfect situation to be the hero. 

The next challenge is limited-overs series against West Indies. He will have to add some runs before going for the tour against Australia. 

When Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar was asked about Dhoni's availability, he clearly stated that the senior wicket-keeper batsman will not feature for his state side as he did not want to unsettle the team combination. 

Coach Kumar revealed that Dhoni has to report for the ODI series in Hyderabad so he might come to meet the team but will not play. 

"He has to go to Hyderabad on October 16 to report for the ODI series. Maybe he will come for a day, I don't know yet what his plan is, but so far, he is not coming," Kumar told ESPNcricinfo.