MS Dhoni to Skip Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

India wicket-keeper batsman, MS Dhoni has decided not to play the upcoming season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Debasish Chakraborty, Secretary of the state association, confirmed the news,

“Yesterday, Dhoni has officially told us that he would not be available for the tournament,” he told Sportstar.

Since MS Dhoni had been plying his trade in domestic cricket since retiring from the Test format, there were speculations that he might lead the side in the tournament but he has conveyed about his unavailability to the state board.

Also, he is part of the India ODI side to face South Africa. Hence, the tournament would have given him a dress rehearsal. The news of Dhoni missing the tournament has come on a day when he was retained by Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming season.

Dhoni’s exclusion though will open the gates for Ishan Kishan, who missed a couple of games last season due to the presence of the ex India captain. Kishan is also a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman, and he had to make way for Dhoni. In Dhoni’s absence, either of Varun Aaron or Saurabh Tiwary is expected to lead the side.

Post the completion of the Zonal League, the best team of 15 players from the zone will be selected who will play in the inter-Zonal League. Both the tournaments will be of utmost importance keeping in mind the IPL auction which will take place on January 27 and 28.

In Jharkhand, the key players will be Kishan, Tiwary and Aaron. All the three players were part of one or the other squads in IPL 2017, but none of them is expected to be retained by their respective franchises. They all have to do well to get themselves a new buyer.

Jharkhand will face East Zones teams viz Tripura, Bengal, Assam and Odisha. Jharkhand will play all its games at home ground at JSCA Stadium in Ranchi.

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