Mahendra Singh Dhoni has guided the Indian cricket team to various international honours in the past. But, despite his heroics in the past, the former Indian captain remains at a corridor of uncertainty with calls for his retirement gaining voice.

The right-handed batsman stepped down as India's limited-overs captain earlier this year. He is no longer the slam-bang finisher who served Indian cricket for so many years. And, with the upcoming talents currently warming the bench, it seems that despite all the pressure, the stature of someone like Dhoni might allow him to play till the next 50-over World Cup in 2019.

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While his fans would feel that his past accomplishments should allow Dhoni to play on for a while, out-of-favour Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir feels otherwise. The left-handed batsman came out all guns blazing against Dhoni and claimed that the former Indian captain should fight for his place if he intends to play in the 2019 World Cup.

"The only way he can survive till 2019 World Cup is by keep on performing. That should be the criteria for everyone, irrespective of whether he is Dhoni or someone else," the Delhi cricketer was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

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The southpaw even stated that performances in the past should not be taken into account during selection, hinting that Dhoni's previous achievements should not be considered for major tournaments in the future.

"Okay, you have done something in the past but that's passed. You can't keep playing till you want to. At the same time I believe someone like Dinesh Karthik has been a massive loss for us because whenever he got an opportunity, he did well. He could have been your backup wicket-keeping option as well," Gambhir added.

The Indian batsman previously took a dig at Dhoni with an audacious post on Twitter, just before the release of his biopic - MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

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While Dhoni is currently plying his trade in Sri Lanka, Gambhir, on the other hand, last played for Team India in 2016 as a Test opener against the visiting English side. Since then, the Delhi batsman has struggled to break into the Indian squad. He is now more focussed on the domestic cricket and Indian Premier League (IPL) where he leads Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).