Former India captain Virender Sehwag on Tuesday said he is not sure if MS Dhoni will be able to make international return, considering the performances of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in limited-overs cricket.
Virender Sehwag said he doesn’t see any reason why India should not stick with the two young wicketkeepers, especially KL Rahul after the good run of form he displayed in the series against Australia and New Zealand.
MS Dhoni’s sabbatical post the 2019 World Cup and his impending return to international cricket have become much-debated topics in Indian cricket in the recent past. Dhoni has not played an international match after India’s exit in the World Cup semi-final in July 2019.
“Where will he fit in? With the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul already in form, especially the latter performing exceptionally well of late, I think there is no reason why we should not stick with them,” Virender Sehwag was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Doubts over MS Dhoni’s return have intensified as uncertainty over IPL 2020 prevails following its suspension. While Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly said health takes priority over cricket in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak, he added that the board will keep a track of developments.
However, former India batsman Aakash Chopra said IPL was never going to be a yardstick for MS Dhoni’s return and that an experienced player like him can make his way back into the team if India are looking at him for this year’s T20 World Cup.
“For a player like Dhoni, IPL was never going to be a yardstick. If he had scored runs in the IPL, experts would have been like ‘select Dhoni’, ‘do this and do that’. MS Dhoni knows what he is doing, whether he wants to come back or not,” Aakash Chopra said in a YouTube video.
“IPL, I don’t think was a critical factor. If he wants to come back, he will make himself available, if the selectors decide to pick him, he will be picked automatically because you won’t get experience in supermarkets.
“Dhoni is a hugely experienced player. If India needs MS Dhoni, then with or without IPL, he will come back.”
