'It's highly unlikely to happen'- Sunil Gavaskar on MS Dhoni's comeback into the Indian team

Former Indian captain, MS Dhoni’s international future has been a huge source of contention for both fans, pundits and former cricketers. The former World Cup-winning captain has been on a sabbatical from international cricket since the country’s heartbreaking defeat to New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-final last July.

Dhoni scored a half-century in that game and just as he was looking to get India past the finishing line, he was brilliantly run-out by Martin Guptill. As a shell shocked Dhoni trudged back to the dressing room, fans feared if they’ve seen the last of him in the Indian colours.

Since then, MS Dhoni has been on a sabbatical and questions have galore about his international future. Dhoni has stayed silent on the entire issue, but a plethora of former cricketers have had their say on the entire saga.

Sunil Gavaskar on MS Dhoni’s chances of making it to the T20 WC Squad

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has opined that while he would certainly like MS Dhoni to take part in the 2020 T20 World Cup, he feels that it is unlikely to happen as the team seems to have moved on from the former Indian captain.

“I would certainly like to see Dhoni in India’s World Cup squad but it’s highly unlikely to happen. The team has moved on. Dhoni is not someone to make big announcements so I reckon he would silently retire from the game,” Gavaskar told Dainik Bhaskar.

There have been a lot of speculations as to whether MS Dhoni will be a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad. Earlier, Team India’s Head Coach Ravi Shastri had stated that the 38-year-old can make it to the World Cup team, provided he has a brilliant IPL campaign.

In fact, the newly elected members of the selection committee- chairman Sunil Joshi and Harvinder Singh- were asked the same question- how they would handle the Dhoni situation- by the Madan Lal-led Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). Joshi-led selection committee later made it clear that the wicketkeeper-batsman will only be considered, provided that he has a whirlwind season for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

Dhoni has been working hard in the nets in CSK’s pre-season camp, but with the tournament now landing in hot waters due to the COVID-19, it remains to be seen whether he will get a chance to sh0wcase his credentials.