The whole of India is excited to see the Indian maestro MS Dhoni back in his cricketing gear. MSD last played competitive cricket back in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July 2019. After taking a small break to spend some time with family, he will be back captaining the IPL side Chennai Super Kings who play Mumbai Indians in their first match in IPL 2020.
A top BCCI official has commented on the selection committee panel’s stance on the inclusion of MS Dhoni back in the Indian setup. The panel believes that MS Dhoni will have to perform well in the upcoming IPL to get a chance to don the Indian jersey in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup.
Newly elected chairman of the Selection Committee, Sunil Joshi and his team met on Sunday in Ahmedabad and discussed the same issue. The main agenda of the committee was to select the team for the upcoming series against South Africa. Starting on March 12, the first ODI is scheduled at the beautiful stadium of Dharamshala. Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuveneshwar Kumar, and match fit Hardik Pandya is recalled for the upcoming series.
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Ex chairman MSK Prasad also had followed the same ideology and insisted a player must perform to get selected in the team. No player shall be drafted straightforwardly into the team. “It was a pretty straightforward selection meeting and since Dhoni was obviously not in the reckoning this time (for South Africa series), there was no formal talk about his future,” a BCCI source said.
He further adds, “He will be back in the reckoning only if he has a good IPL. And why only him, there are so many senior and young players who will play in the IPL. If they do well, they ought to be considered too. So, you could see some surprise inclusions.”
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The matches Indian team play after the IPL before the world will also be considered in as a selection criterion, but the player’s form in IPL will be the clincher, says the source.
March 29 will be a big day for number cricket fans who will flock in at the Wankhede stadium to see the world cup winning former Indian captain back as Mumbai Indians take on MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the first match of the IPL 13.