Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was last seen dawning the blue jersey in an ODI match against New Zealand during the 2019 World Cup, finally gave a hint about his comeback.
“January tak mat poocho (Don’t ask me till January),” said Dhoni while leaving an event in Mumbai, where journalists were throwing questions regarding his future. However, the champion wicketkeeper-batsman didn’t elaborate as to what he meant.
Nothing to see here (yet), says MS Dhoni 👋https://t.co/Tlb2TyX3BV pic.twitter.com/4tYwwwJRtB
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 28, 2019
Due to his commitment to the Indian Army, Dhoni did not feature in the squads for the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh. He also opted out for the upcoming series with West Indies.
Recently, MSD was seen training with Jharkhand’s under-23 team in Ranchi, which triggered the fresh speculations on his return to competitive cricket.
However, Chief selector Msk Prasad went a bit far to say that the panel has “moved on” from Dhoni. But newly-elected BCCI President Saurav Ganguly has ruled out the rumors of Dhoni’s immediate retirement. He said, “You know champions don’t finish quickly.”
India head coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday also broke his silence when asked whether there is still a chance of Dhoni making a comeback for the next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Shastri said it would depend on the form of the incumbents as well as his own form, particularly during the IPL.
“It all depends on when he starts playing and how he is playing during the IPL. What are the other people doing with the wicket-keeping gloves, or what is the form of those players as opposed to Dhoni’s form. The IPL becomes a massive tournament because that could be the last tournament after which more or less your 15 is decided,” Shastri was quoted as saying by PTI.
