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ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Kapil Dev lauds decision to appoint MS Dhoni as team mentor

Written by Vipin Darwade

India great Kapil Dev on Friday welcomed MS Dhoni’s appointment as the mentor of the national team for the T20 World Cup, saying it seems a special case since he has come back to the set up only one year after retirement.

Speaking at an event here, Kapil said there should be gap of at least three to four years for a retired cricketer to come back to the national set up.

“It is a good decision. I have always been of the opinion that once a cricketer retires he should come back to the set up only after three four years but this seems like a special case with the World Cup around the corner. Ravi (Shastri) is also down with COVID so it looks a special case,” Kapil said.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah had confirmed he spoke with Dhoni during his visit to Dubai and that the former captain agreed to be the Indian team’s mentor for the T20 World Cup. Dhoni is the only captain to have won all three major ICC limited-overs trophies – T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011) and the Champions Trophy (2013).

“So as far as MS Dhoni is concerned, I spoke to him when I was in Dubai so he was okay with the decision and he agreed to be the team mentor for T20 World Cup only. I discussed this particular issue with my colleagues also, they are all on the same page,” said Shah during a virtual press conference.

“I spoke to captain and vice-captain as well as head coach Ravi Shastri, they all are on the same page so that is why we reached a conclusion,” he added.

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Vipin Darwade