On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah asserted that former India skipper, MS Dhoni is not charging for his role as mentor of Team India during the T20 World Cup, starting October 17 in Oman and The UAE. Jay Shah said that the BCCI is grateful for MS Dhoni as the former captain agreed to serve the team during the World Cup.
The BCCI managed to convince MS Dhoni to be with the team only the T20 world Cup as the board secretary announced the unforeseen decision when the squad was announced last month.
As per the quotes in ANI, Jay Shah said, “MS Dhoni is not charging any honorarium for his services as the mentor of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.”
MS Dhoni, who led India to glory in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, retired from international cricket in August 2020. However, he has been playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dhoni is in the UAE with CSK and will join Team India following the completion of IPL 2021. Dhoni has led CSK to their 9th IPL final as he helped the 3-time champions bounce back from the horrors of UAE in 2020.
Earlier, India Today reported that it was Jay Shah who had the idea of roping in MS Dhoni and use his experience as early as two months before the announcement was made. Shah had a virtual interaction with Dhoni, offering him the opportunity to work as Team India’s 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 told the former India captain that MS Dhoni will be traveling as mentor and would assume a similar role of head coach, Ravi Shastri with equal responsibility.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign under Virat Kohli’s captaincy against Pakistan in Dubai on October 24.
