MS Dhoni Will Get A Chance In The T20 World Cup, Says His Childhood Coach

With the future of IPL 2020 uncertain, there are huge doubts over MS Dhoni’s participation in this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The former India skipper has not played any competitive game since the end of the World Cup in July last year.

Soon after the tournament ended, the wicketkeeper-batsman, who was under pressure to deliver, took a sabbatical from the game. The selectors later said that they are moving on from MS Dhoni and have handed the responsibility to the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

The BCCI also dropped the former India skipper from the central contracts list. The thirteenth edition of the IPL was seen as the only way for MS Dhoni to force his way back into the Indian team. Head coach Ravi Shastri had also said that a good outing in the IPL would certainly put the veteran into contention for the T20 World Cup.

He had also started preparing for the tournament before the coronavirus outbreak put a break to everything. There are now doubts over whether the IPL would go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic. The BCCI has already suspended the league till April 15. And with the government imposing a nation-wide 21-day lockdown, the chances of IPL being conducted looks very bleak.

MS Dhoni’s coach on his chances of playing T20 World Cup:

While it looks like MS Dhoni’s chances of playing the T20 World Cup depends solely on the IPL, his childhood coach Keshav Ranjan Banerjee remains hopeful that the star find a place in India’s T20 World Cup even if the IPL gets cancelled. He also said that MS Dhoni has been training to stay fit.

“In the current scenario, IPL looks unlikely and we will have to wait for BCCI’s call. His (Dhoni’s) position will become tough obviously. But my sixth sense says he will get a chance in the T20 World Cup, which will be his last,” Banerjee told PTI.

“I spoke to him last after he returned from Chennai and I’m in constant touch with his parents. He’s doing his fitness training and is fully fit. Now let’s wait for the BCCI’s decision. There’s no tournament. ICC tournaments are off till June. So we will have to wait and see,” he added.

In recent times, the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag raised a question mark on the return of the 38-year old due to his prolonged absence from international cricket. However, Banerjee thinks otherwise.

“True that he has not played a tournament (since July 2019) but for someone with 538 International matches, I don’t think it would take much time to adjust.”

“It would have been a different scenario for a beginner. But it’s not the case with Dhoni he has got a wealth of experience. I think he will get a last chance,” said Banerjee.

Also Read: Revealed: This Is Why MS Dhoni Donated Only 1 Lakh To Fight Coronavirus