With the ODI series against the Windies still a couple of weeks away, the chances of MS Dhoni to play List A cricket for his state team Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy seems to be increasing. After being part of the Indian team which lifted the Asia Cup for the seventh time, Dhoni is having some time off from cricket while the national team is locking horns with Windies in a Test series.

However, Dhoni will need to be at his best for the limited-overs series against the Windies, and also keep himself prepared for the upcoming tour of Australia. Therefore, he is likely to play for Jharkhand in the 50-overs tournament. He has been struggling with his batting recently and would want to use this as the platform to get back his touch ahead of the international assignment.

Jharkhand, who are currently on top of Elite Group C, will play their last group game against Services on October 11 before getting into the knockout stages which get underway on October 14 – just a week before the start of the Windies ODI series. Jharkhand have a four-point lead over second-placed Haryana, and are all but assured of a spot in the quarter-final. If they win the game against Services, they will not only qualify for the knockout stages but will also finish at the top of their group.

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After the Asia Cup final on September 28, Dhoni decided to not play in the group stage for Jharkhand and has missed three games since. According to reports in the Mumbai Mirror, he is expected to play the game against Services a miss but is likely to feature in the knockout stages.

Jharkhand Cricket Association secretary Debasish Chakraborty said, “Dhoni has been training with the team since September and has been involved in all aspects of the game. He has been playing the role of mentor. It hardly matters if a player of his stature takes part in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.”

MS has only played 15 ODIs and 7 T20Is this year and also struggled to score runs in the Asia Cup.