T20 WC 2021: MS Dhoni named Team India's mentor

Legendary cricketer MS Dhoni has certainly announced his retirement in international cricket from all formats of the game, but his association with the Indian team will continue in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Dhoni will be seen travelling with the team in the role of a mentor, which is certainly an interesting decision considering the experience and tactical expertise in crunch situations that he can help provide.

This move was announced by the BCCI Honorary Secretary Jay Shah, who revealed the thinking behind appointing Dhoni. The former India captain had led the nation to the inaugural T20 World Cup trophy back in 2007.

“As far as Dhoni is concerned, I spoke to him when I was in Dubai. He was okay with the decision, and he agreed to be a mentor for team India, for the T20 World Cup only. I spoke to the captain (Virat Kohli) and vice-captain (Rohit Sharma) as well as Ravi Shastri (the head coach), and that’s why we reached the conclusion,” said Shah as quoted by ICC.

“Ravichandran Ashwin has been playing in the IPL regularly”

The other interesting news is the return of Ravichandran Ashwin, having last played limited-overs cricket for India in 2017. Ashwin’s appearances for Team India have been restricted to Test cricket since then. The likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal seemed the preferred option for India in limited-overs cricket, but they have been left out of the 15-member squad. Shikhar Dhawan is the other big name missing from the squad, having led India in the recently concluded series in Sri Lanka in July.

“Ravichandran Ashwin has been playing in the IPL regularly. He has performed well there. When you go into the World Cup, you need an off-spinner, everyone has an idea that the wickets in the UAE will get slower as IPL will also be played there. Spinners will get assistance so having an off-spinner holds the key. Washington Sundar is injured and Ashwin is an asset for the team. He has performed well in the IPL so that is why he has found a place for himself in the squad,” said Team India chief selector Chetan Sharma during the press conference.

“The world doesn’t know what Varun Chakravarthy can do”

Varun Chakravarthy and Ishan Kishan are other interesting additions to the T20 World Cup squad, with the chief selector terming Varun as a surprise package.

“Varun Chakravarthy has bowled well with an economy rate of 5 per over in Sri Lanka. He is a mystery bowler. The world doesn’t know what Varun Chakravarthy can do. He is a surprise package. We have three openers in the squad. We have Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan who can bat as an opener and can fit into the middle order at any point in time. Kishan provides us with multiple opportunities. If we need him to open, he will, as he has done (so) in the ODIs and scored a fifty there as well. In the middle order, he is a good player of spin and he is a good left-handed option with explosive abilities,” added Chetan.

Full squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami; Stand-by: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur.