MS Dhoni's retirement from international cricket on August 15 left his fans heartbroken, as they had hoped that the former Indian captain would return after self-imposed sabbatical to play in T20 World Cup 2021 in India and then maybe take a call on his future at the highest level.

It is being said that Dhoni might have made himself available for selection in the now postponed T20 World Cup 2020 but COVID-19 pandemic forced ICC to shift the tournament in Australia to 2022, which perhaps played a role in his decision to retire.

Ex-Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar believes MS Dhoni could still be convinced to come out of retirement for next year's T20 World Cup, if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi requests him to play in the tournament.

Speaking on YouTube channel BolWasim, he said, “You never know, the Prime Minister may call him and request him to play the T20 World Cup. That is also possible. Imran Khan was asked by General Zia-ul-Haq not to leave cricket after 1987, and he played. You cannot say no to the Prime Minister.”

Akhtar further said that Dhoni should have played in the tournament but at the end of the day it his personal choice. “I think he could have gone on to play the T20 World Cup. The way India supports its stars, the way they love them, and recognizes them, they would have played him in T20s. But it was his personal choice,” 

“But again he has won everything, a person from Ranchi has rocked the whole of India, what else do you need. At the end of the day, the world should remember you. And a nation like India, they will never let you get forgotten.” he added.

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Akhtar also feels Indians would be ready to give a grand farewell to Dhoni, if he himself wishes to have one.

“India will be geared up to give him a farewell game, trust me. If he doesn’t want it, it is a different thing, but India will be ready. The whole stadium will be booked for him to play a couple of T20 matches,” he concluded.

Dhoni's last international outing was in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand where India lost by 18 runs. He played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is, scoring over 17,000 runs and affecting more than 800 dismissals behind the stumps. He is the only captain to win all three major ICC events in white-ball cricket.

(With the Indian Express inputs)