The Indian cricket team is going into the 2021 T20 World Cup with Ravi Shastri as head coach, Virat Kohli as captain, and MS Dhoni as team mentor. BCCI announced Dhoni's inclusion in the support staff while naming the 15-man squad, which came as surprise for many.

Former Pakistan cricketer Tanveer Ahmed believes India is probably under pressure and that could be a reason for bringing Dhoni, one of the most experienced Indian cricketers, into the team as a mentor. He also pointed out that the Indian players were not in form during the IPL 2021 and even Kohli decided to quit the T20 captaincy due to pressure.

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“On paper, there is no doubt that India is a top team. The way they have played cricket around the world, but you have to look at recent performances. Firstly, I’d like to talk about Virat Kohli. He was under a lot of pressure and he quit T20 captaincy. He said I won’t captain in T20s as my performances have not been great.

“Then, maybe they were under pressure so they are taking MS Dhoni as a mentor. Even if you look at the IPL, the players in India’s squad were not among the top 10 performers. Their spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have not done very well, so of course, there will be pressure,” he said in a program with ABP News and ARY News.

Tanveer further spoke on the much-awaited India and Pakistan clash in the 2021 T20 World Cup. They will take on each other in Dubai and the ex-Pakistan cricketer agrees India is strong on paper but they aren't certain to win considering the format.

“If you look at Pakistan, they have been playing cricket in Dubai for a long time, they have a good idea of the conditions. On paper, fine, India has a good team, but in T20 cricket, you never know. One player can come and win you the match and go,” he added.

(With Inputs from ABP News)