The surprise picks and omissions were set to dominate the headlines on Wednesday as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was scheduled to announce India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, starting October 17 in the UAE. However, when secretary Jay Shah announced that MS Dhoni would join the team as mentor for the World Cup, the former India captain’s appointment hogged the limelight.
India Today understands that it was Jay Shah who had thought of making use of MS Dhoni’s experience as early as two months before the announcement was made. Shah had a virtual interaction with Dhoni, offering him the opportunity to work with the Indian team as the mentor in the UAE.
Dhoni agreed to the proposal after he received clarity about the role at the T20 World Cup.
Jay Shah then approached captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma who agreed to the proposal.
The BCCI secretary then spoke to India’s head coach Ravi Shastri, for whom the T20 World Cup will be the last assignment. Shah told the former India captain that MS Dhoni will be traveling as mentor and would assume a similar role with equal responsibility.
Shastri welcomed the idea, saying he would be happy with Dhoni stepping in as the mentor and the team benefiting from the appointment.
Shah then took it to the BCCI and discussed with his colleagues before the board made the appointment official on Wednesday.
