MS Dhoni hasn’t played competitive cricket since India’s heartbreaking exit from the 2019 World Cup courtesy their defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals at Old Trafford in Manchester. MS Dhoni scored a valiant half-century in that game but just as it looked that the former World Cup-winning captain will take India past the finishing line, he was unfortunately run-out courtesy a brilliant direct-hit from Martin Guptill.
Dhoni has been on an extended sabbatical since that quadrennial event in England and with every series that he has missed since then, speculations have galore regarding his International future.
Ravi Shastri, the head coach of the Indian cricket team, had time and again said that Dhoni’s inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad depended on how he and his contemporaries fared in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League.
But with the IPL getting postponed for an indefinite period of time and the T20 World Cup, which was set to take place in Australia in October almost set to get canceled due to the proliferation of COVID-19 has made Dhoni’s comeback to international cricket very difficult, feels former Indian wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra.
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MS Dhoni is a very unpredictable person: Ajay Ratra
Speaking to My Khel, Ajay Ratra said that the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League would have decisive for MS Dhoni’s chances of making a return to international cricket since it would have given an opportunity to the team-management to closely monitor both his performances and his fellow wicket-keepers’ performances.
“You see, Dhoni is a very unpredictable person whom you can’t judge what’s coming next,” Ajay Ratra told MyKhel.
“But yes there has been a long time since he played competitive cricket. IPL 2020 seemed quite decisive for his international career. The team management would have closely monitored his performance and also how other wicketkeepers would’ve done during the IPL.
“Unfortunately, IPL getting postponed indefinitely makes it (Dhoni’s comeback) difficult but you never know with Dhoni.”
Dhoni was sweating it out at the Chepauk in CSK’s pre-season camp and was gearing up for his return to competitive cricket but for the global pandemic COVID-19 that paved way for the IPL to get postponed for an indefinite period of time.