Having been dropped out of the T20I squad in favour of a younger Rishabh Pant, there have been questions as to whether the 37-year-old MS Dhoni deserves to play for India in the 2019 ICC World Cup. For his close friend Arun Pandey, the question of Dhoni letting go of the showpiece event isn’t even a topic of discussion.
“It’s been a long cherished dream of Dhoni – since he gave up the captaincy in white ball cricket – to play in the World Cup next year where he would be more as a mentor to the team. His idea was to give Kohli time to develop in this role and there is still no change in his thinking,” Pandey, CMD of Rhiti Sports which manages MS Dhoni, told Gulf News.
“He’s (Dhoni) still a very integral part of this team and he just feels that in the T20 format, someone like Rishabh can get more chances,” Kohli had said on the subject of Dhoni’s absence from the shortest format.
As for the World Cup, the chances of another wicket-keeper batsman being preferred over Dhoni look fairly grim, considering both the experience that Dhoni brings in the team and his record at major tournaments.
