IPL performance to decide Dhoni’s future

The national selection committee will look at M S Dhoni‘s performance in the Indian Premier League while deciding whether he can make the cut for the T20 World Cup selection. This is according to sources from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The selection panel headed by Sunil Joshi met in Ahmedabad to choose a team for the three ODIs against South Africa beginning on 12 March. Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan are back in the side.

The panel has made it clear that the Indian cricket team has moved on from Dhoni and that he would have to first play to be considered for selection. Dhoni has not played since the World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand in July and his comeback in the IPL is highly awaited. The IPL begins on 29 March.

A source at the BCCI told the Hindustan Times, “Dhoni 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 are ought to be considered too. So, you could see some surprise inclusions”.

The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in October-November. Games that India play after the IPL leading up to the major event will play a role in choosing who gets selected.

Dhoni has not played a game in over seven months. With his successor Rishabh Pant not playing as well as expected and K L Rahul being groomed into a full-time wicketkeeper-batsman, Dhoni’s comeback cannot be ruled out.

His fans will finally get to see him in action when he leads Chennai Super Kings against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL opening match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on 29 March.

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