MUMBAI: “I’ll do it my way (paraphrasing Frank Sinatra)…” And that’s how MS Dhoni is doing it. The former India captain, who took a break from cricket after India’s ouster from the 2019 World Cup (the ra ra media termed his reasons as being to serve in the Indian Army). Fact being that neither did he “serve”, nor was the reason for his break linked to said “serving”.
We digress. Dhoni has reportedly extended his break and has made himself unavailable for selection until at least (emphasis ours) November this year. By the looks of things, the India great has already mapped out his end game as far as the national team is concerned and the same will be made public at a time (and in a manner) of his choosing.
According to Mumbai Mirror, he will now be extending his break from cricket, meaning he will miss out on both the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well as the home T20I series against Bangladesh. What this also means is that the earliest he can now make a comeback to the Indian side will be when West Indies come visiting for a T20I series in December.
There have been plenty of speculations around his future and how the selectors deal with the transition. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has already publicly called on the selectors to look ahead as the side builds up to the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
“Nobody knows know what is in MSD’s mind. Only he can clarify what he thinks his future with Indian cricket is. But I think with him being 38 now, India should be looking ahead. Because by the time the next T20 World Cup comes around he will be 39 years old,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“Everybody has a shelf life and I do believe with the greatest of respect to Dhoni and I am a fan as millions of others; I just believe he should be going without being pushed out. He should be going on his own terms,” Gavaskar further added.
The seasoned campaigner’s last match for India was against New Zealand in the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup, a match which India lost by 18 runs.
