T20WC 2020: “Want Dhoni to be part of India’s T20 World Cup squad,” Kris Srikkanth

MS Dhoni has not played for India since 2019 World Cup exit.

With the 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League being postponed indefinitely, questions began about the future of MS Dhoni’s return to international cricket. The IPL 2020 was supposed to be the big audition for Dhoni, who has not played international cricket since July 2019.

The former India captain will lead the Chennai Super Kings in the tournament, in which his performance was to decide his fate when it came to his selection in the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year.

MS Dhoni's arrival changed power dynamics in Indian cricket: Kris Srikkanth

Despite the IPL 2020 in limbo, former India captain Kris Srikkanth feels Dhoni is a must in the Indian team for the T20 event down under.

"Dhoni has done a lot for Indian cricket, but the last ball of yesterday is all history, you start from scratch the next day, if he plays the T20 World Cup, there will be a microscope on him. We have freedom of speech so anybody can give an opinion, I am not Sunil Joshi (national selector) so I cannot decide. I am a fan of Dhoni so I would like to see him in the squad, but it is not my call,” he told ANI.

However, the former national selector said that he was lucky not to be in the shoes of Sunil Joshi. Given the experience and performance of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, if IPL 2020 doesn’t happen, we might not see MS Dhoni in Indian team jersey again.

“If there is no IPL and if India directly goes into T20 World Cup in Australia, how will selectors choose Dhoni? The only thing that could come in his favor is that he has played a lot for the country, but this looks highly improbable according to me," Srikkanth said.

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“The dilemma is with the spectators, it will be a huge challenge. It would be a tough call, personally I think it is stacked against Dhoni. It is a monumental task, knowing the sentiments of cricket followers in the country, it would be difficult for the selectors. If the selectors stick their neck out for Dhoni and if he doesn't perform and we do not win the World Cup, it can bring a lot of criticism towards the team and selectors," he further added.

MS Dhoni had copped lots of criticism for his slow batting in India’s games in the 2019 World Cup and lost his place in the BCCI’s centrally contracted list of players this year as well.

(ANI inputs)