Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has refused to rule out Mahendra Singh Dhoni's return into the national side for the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2020 which is set to be hosted by Australia in November.
Ever since India's semi-final exit from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against New Zealand in August, MSD made himself unavailable for selection. During his break from cricket, the 38-year-old also served for the Indian Army too.
After being absent from the Indian squad which took on West Indies and South Africa in the past months, Dhoni also backed out from the Bangladesh series as well.
BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad has already revealed that the committee have moved on from MSD and are preparing for the future now.
But, Shastri has expressed his thoughts on Dhoni and said he may still be a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad but will make the final decision after overseeing MSD's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 performances.
“It all depends on when he starts playing and how he is playing during the IPL,” Shastri told IANS.
“What are other people doing with the wicket-keeping gloves or what is the form of those players as opposed to Dhoni’s form. The IPL becomes a massive tournament because that could be the last tournament after which more or less your 15 players (for the T20 World Cup) are decided.”
Shastri also said that the CSK skipper's form in the 13th edition of the IPL will be a key factor.
“There might be one player who might be there and thereabouts in case of an injury or whatever. But your team, I would say, would be known after the IPL."
"What I would say is rather than speculating who is where, wait for the IPL to get over and then you are in a position to take a call on who are the best in the country,” Shastri added.
Even though 'Mahi' is yet to speak about his future, according to a lot of reports he is expected to take a decision on his retirement at the end of the IPL 2020 season.
“If at all MS will take a call on his future, it will only be after the IPL. You can’t stop speculation as he is such a big player."
"He is in the best shape possible fitness-wise and has been training hard for the last one month,” an official is quoted as saying on Tuesday by PTI.
