The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday (January 16) announced the central contract list for the 2020-21 season.
While most of the names featuring in the list were on expected lines, there was one notable omission in the chart as well.
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MS Dhoni, who hasn’t played international cricket ever since India’s ouster from World Cup 2019, was not named in any of the categories. And the veteran wicketkeeper’s absence from the annual contract list has once again raised questions over his cricket future.
Amid a lot of speculations, a report published in TOI claims that Dhoni’s name missing from the list does not make any difference to the cricketer’s career in the immediate context.
Report also claims that the 38-year-old was not considered for a central contract as he hasn’t played any cricket for the country for six months.
“But that doesn’t mean he won’t be considered for any selection in the future,” said sources.
According to TOI, Dhoni will not call time on his international cricket career until the end of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The IPL will be a platform for the national selectors to pick the squad for T20 World Cup in October and Dhoni could be in contention for a berth provided that he does well for Chennai Super Kings.
“Then it is up to the selectors and it is up to individual performances. What if he single-handedly takes CSK to victory in IPL? Won’t that matter? People should stop jumping the gun. His absence from the annual retainership doesn’t mean a thing,” sources said.
Report further suggests that Dhoni will ‘certainly make himself available for selection’ when the time arrives to pick the squad for T20 World Cup.
(With TOI inputs)
