Don't Judge MS Dhoni Based On IPL, He Should Play T20 World Cup: Mohammad Kaif
Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has backed MS Dhoni to play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The former cricketer said that the veteran has ‘a lot of cricket’ left in him and ruling him out will be ‘unfair’. Ever since the World Cup ended in July last year, MS Dhoni’s future has been the talk of the town.
Even while the tournament was going on, reports suggested that the former India skipper would retire after the end of the World Cup. However, he sprung a big surprise by taking a sabbatical from the game which is yet to end.
His sabbatical would have ended this month in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He had also started training for the league in Chennai before the BCCI suspended the league till April 15 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. With the Indian government now extending the lockdown, the IPL is set to be suspended indefinitely.
The IPL was seen by many as the tournament which could have helped MS Dhoni make a comeback to the Indian team. But with the fate of IPL not clear, the 38-year old’s future in international cricket is also unclear. However, Mohammad Kaif believes that the World Cup-winner should not be judged on the basis of IPL and should play the T20 World Cup.
“See, people may have eyes on Dhoni that how he is going to play in the IPL and then there will be talks of the T20 World Cup but my view is different from others. I do not judge Dhoni based on his IPL form. He is a great batsman and he is fit now. He wants to play IPL, do captaincy and is showing his availability. He has a winning mentality and knows how to win games under pressure,” Mohammad Kaif told ANI.
“So, I think ruling him out will be unfair. See a lot of cricket is still left in Dhoni and when a player plays for this long, there are ups and downs in his career. It happens with every cricketer, not just Dhoni,” he added.
