Gautam Gambhir believes it's time to look beyond MS Dhoni

Gambhir also brought forward the fact that the Indian captain should be bold enough to speak on the team's schemes and if a particular player fits in to the squad or not.

"It is time for some of the youngsters to get groomed in the next four-five years because ultimately, it is not about Dhoni, it is about the country," reckoned Gambhir.

For now, Dhoni is on a sabbatical from the sport following the conclusion of India's ICC World Cup 2019 campaign.

Dhoni has missed India's campaign against Windies and South Africa so far, while he is also set to miss it against Bangladesh in November, having extended his break until the month.

He is likely to play the T20Is against the Windies in December.

Gambhir further said that the question was not if Dhoni would play the World T20 next year, but grooming the right candidate, ideally in the form of Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson.

"You might want to give the opportunity to Pant or Samson, any young cricketer They should get the opportunity I think, personally, if you ask me," opined Gambhir.

Samson has been in a decent form. Considering his last five List A matches, he has scored 210 runs at an average of 42.

Meanwhile, Pant has managed to score just 56 in his last five ODIs, at a poor average of 14.

Thus, going by the recent performance, Samson can be given a chance in ODIs.