Amid the ongoing global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, India’s most successful captain MS Dhoni's international future remains a major topic to discuss among the cricket fraternities despite the whole world is confined to home due to outbreak of the deadly virus.
Dhoni has not played cricket since India's ouster from the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year – which sparked rumors and the uncertainty over the veteran’s future in international while many believed he retired from the game.
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The wicketkeeper-batsman was due to captain Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 but the tournament has been suspended indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a hindrance in Dhoni’s potential return to the national squad.
The IPL 2020 was a perfect platform for the former skipper to showcase his potential to bid for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia later this year.
Well, now it remains to see whether he would return post the global pandemic, but former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif backed Dhoni to play in the T20 World Cup 2020, saying the legend still has a lot of cricket left in him and he should represent India in Australia’s showpiece event later this year.
Kaif further said that he can’t judge Dhoni based on his IPL form, saying he is a great player and in great fitness, so it would be unfair to rule him out for the T20 World Cup 2020.
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As per a report in ANI, Kaif stated on Wednesday (April 15): “See, people may have eyes on Dhoni that how he is going to play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) and then there will be talks of the T20 World Cup but my view is different from others. I do not judge Dhoni based on his IPL form.”
He further said, “He is a great batsman and he is fit now. He wants to play IPL, do captaincy and is showing his availability. He has a winning mentality and knows how to win games under pressure. So, I think ruling him out will be unfair. See a lot of cricket is still left in Dhoni and when a player plays for this long, there are ups and downs in his career. It happens with every cricketer, not just Dhoni.”
Meanwhile, everyone was expecting Dhoni to win the World Cup semi-final for India, but he was run out in the 49th over after scoring 50 runs and eventually, the Men in Blue failed to chase the 240-run target against New Zealand, but Kaif still feels he is a 'champion player'.
He explained, “The semifinal of the World Cup which we lost; everyone was expecting Dhoni to win it but it did not happen. So, from there on, people thought that Dhoni should not be there. But for me, Dhoni is a champion player. People should look at Dhoni's record in the last 10 to 15 years. See, the current form is important but at the same time his form was not that bad that you rule him out.”
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The former international also backed the BCCI’s decision to postpone the IPL 2020, saying life is more important than the games at the moment amid the COVID-19 crisis.
He further added, “In the present scenario, life is more important than sports. I think the decision of the BCCI is right. When the situation improves, we will think of sports. In our country, cases are rising. So, as of now, the situation is not under control. So, I think it's the right decision because at this stage the first priority is to beat coronavirus and save the people.”
On the window for IPL, Kaif signed off by saying, “I feel when things are sorted out and there is the possibility of games to be played, then they (BCCI) will look for options.”
(With ANI Inputs)
