'It all depends on when he starts playing and how he is playing during the IPL' - Ravi Shastri on MS Dhoni’s possible return

If you are an Indian cricket fan, one of the disappointing, heartbreaking, heartwrenching moment of the year was witnessing those 15 minutes of the World Cup semi-final when the New Zealand fast bowlers sent the famed Indian top-order packing. India had come into the all-important semi-final as one of the favourites to lift the coveted Trophy after having secured the top spot in the group stage courtesy a string of dominant performances.

In the semi-final, India was reduced to 3-5 and then to 4-25 before MS Dhoni (50) and Ravindra Jadeja (77) scripted a comeback of epic proportions but even that too wasn’t good enough in the end as the duo fell in successive overs at the end to squash away any chance that the Men in Blue had of regaining the title.

Since that fateful day of July 2019, Team India has been on a roll. The Men in Blue have lost just two out of the seventeen completed International fixtures across the three formats of the game. It is their dominance in the longest format of the game, where they have won seven out of seven (2-0 vs WI, 3-0 vs SA & 2-0 vs Bangladesh) that has been a defining feature and Coach Ravi Shastri has hailed the attitude of the team post that heartbreaking defeat to New Zealand at Old Trafford.

“For me, the intensity shown by this team is fabulous. The way they have bounced back after those 15 minutes in Manchester. That was a bitter pill to swallow and hurt one and all. But then, the ferocity and intensity they have shown after that in the last three months is unbelievable. This is remarkable and that is why I say if you look back 5-6 years, this will have to be one of the most consistent Indian teams ever across all formats,” Ravi Shastri said as quoted by the New Indian Express.

Ravi Shastri opens up on MS Dhoni’s International future

Since the heartbreak of the 50-over World Cup, the focus has now shifted towards building the side for the next World event- ICC T20 World Cup 2020, and one of the questions that have been on everyone’s mind is whether MS Dhoni, who hasn’t featured in any International encounter since July, will be a part of the quadrennial event.

Speaking on a possible comeback, Shastri reckoned that it all depends on how the former captain plays in the IPL. Shastri said that the IPL becomes a massive tournament as far as finalizing the squad for the World Cup is concerned and said that it really depends on how Dhoni and other wicketkeepers are performing will have a huge bearing as to who will travel to Australia as the first-choice keeper.

“It all depends on when he starts playing and how he is playing during the IPL. What are the other people doing with the wicket-keeping gloves or what is the form of those players as opposed to Dhoni’s form. The IPL becomes a massive tournament because that could be the last tournament after which more or less your 15 is decided,” said Shastri.

“There might be one player who might be there and thereabouts in case of an injury or whatever. But your team I would say would be known after the IPL. What I would say is rather than speculating of who is where, wait for the IPL to get over and then you are in a position to take a call on who are the best 17 in the country,” he added.

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