India lost to New Zealand by 18 runs in the first semi-final match of the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup at Old Trafford in Manchester. After India's defeat, speculations were on the rise that former wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni might retire from the limited-overs of cricket.

However, skipper Virat Kohli cleared the air during the post-match press conference that there is no such development as of now.

Meanwhile, veteran playback singer Lata Mangeshkar urged Dhoni to not think about retiring anytime soon as the country still needs a cricketer like him. She took to her Twitter handle and conveyed the message through a series of tweets.

She wrote, “Namaskar M S Dhoni ji. Aaj kal main sun rahi hun ke Aap retire hona chahte hain. Kripaya aap aisa mat sochiye. Desh ko aap ke khel ki zaroorat hai aur ye meri bhi request hai ki Retirement ka vichar bhi aap mann mein mat laayiye @msdhoni (Nowadays, I'm hearing that you (Dhoni) are going to retire. Please don't take retirement, nation wants you. I also request you, not to take retirement and also do not think about retirement)”.

The wicket-keeper batsman played a knock of 50 runs but failed to guide his team into the finale against the Kiwis.

Dhoni faced criticism during the ongoing World Cup for scoring runs at a slow pace.