Millions of Dhoni fans were shocked when the BCCI selectors announced that they were dropping M S Dhoni from India’s T20 squad. A man who helped India lift ODI and T20 World Cups has no place in the team. Is this the end for Dhoni in T20s? Chief selector M S K Prasad, however, said it is not. He is not going to play the six T20Is (West Indies and Australia) because they are looking at the second keeper’s slot. Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik feature in the team.
Not seeing Dhoni in T20 matches will worry his fans. Remember, he was solid with his bat and finished a few matches for CSK in the last IPL. Dhoni surprised many with his great form, scoring 455 runs in 15 matches in IPL 2018 with a strike rate of above 150. He played some match-winning knocks for his side this season. He smashed 30 sixes this season. He became the first cricketer to score 5,000 runs as captain in the IPL.
Dhoni has represented India in 90 Tests, 329 ODIs and 93 T20 matches since his debut in 2004 in a one-day game against Bangladesh in Chittagong. The player, once dubbed as Captain Cool, retired from Tests in 2014 and then relinquished the limited-overs captaincy in 2017. He still has some game left in him. A champion player and Captain Cool, he needs to have been given better treatment by the selectors. Dropping him this way is unwise. However, it looks certain that he might play ODI World Cup in 2020 in England.