The rumours on MS Dhoni’s retirement has been doing rounds for a while and his exclusion from BCCI’s central contract last week raised the doubts even more. But former BCCI president N. Srinivasan made it clear that the former Indian skipper will be part of the upcoming Indian T20 League and will be retained in the 2021 auction as well.
"People keep saying when will he… how long will he play, etc. He will play. I can assure you. He will play this year. Next year he will go the auction; he will be retained. So there is no doubt in anybody's mind", Srinivasan said at a recent India Cements event.
Dhoni has been a part of the Chennai franchise since the Indian T20 League’s inaugural edition and has led the team to three title triumphs.
Dhoni returned to training recently after 5 months of sabbatical, the World Cup winning captain hasn’t played a competitive game since that World Cup semi-final on July 9 last year.
Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar said that he was impressed with Dhoni’s fluent batting at the nets despite being out of action for a while. Kumar also confirmed that Dhoni will continue training till the time he is in Ranchi.
"I will be honest… I thought there will be a bit of rustiness as Dhoni has not trained for quite some time. The last time we had spoken, he had said that he would start in January and here you go. He is a man of his words and it came as no surprise that he was out there training with the guys just like any other regular Jharkhand player. But what surprised me most was how he middled almost every ball, be it in the pacer's net or the spinner's net. He even took throwdowns just like a player going through the batting drills does”, he added.
"I haven't had any talks with him with regards to the national team and him donning the India jersey again. But, his preparations for the next edition of the IPL has begun and while the senior team will be busy playing the Ranji Trophy game from Sunday, Dhoni will continue training till the time he is in Ranchi", the Jharkhand coach further mentioned.
‘Dhoni still in contention for the T20 World Cup’
Although Dhoni has been out of the Indian squad since July, Indian coach Ravi Shastri recently said that the veteran wicket-keeper remains in contention for the T20 World Cup in Australia this year.
"If he decides to play, which he will because he will play the IPL, then he will start with a very fresh mind and very clear ideas. Then you've got to see form. If he has a great IPL and puts himself into contention that 'I'm available for selection', then you don't fool around," Shastri said at an event.
