Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been out of the national team since their semi-final exit from last year’s World Cup in England, will have to perform well in the upcoming Indian Premier League to be back in the reckoning for a spot in the Indan team.
Two new members were picked in the national selection committee, including the chairman Sunil Joshi, last week by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). And according to a BCCI source, the selection committee’s stance on Dhoni remains the same.
“It was a pretty straightforward selection meeting and since Dhoni was obviously not in the reckoning this time (for South Africa series), there was no formal talk about his future,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.
“He will be back in the reckoning only if he has a good IPL. And why only him, there are so many senior and young players who will play in the IPL. If they do well, they are ought to be considered too. So, you could see some surprise inclusions,” the source added.
Earlier, national team head coach Ravi Shastri had hinted that the former Indian captain could be in the squad for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year. And the games India play after the IPL leading up to the mega event will also be a factor in the final squad selection.
Meanwhile, Dhoni received hero’s welcome on his return to Chennai last week before attending his first net session with the Chennai franchise amid huge fanfare.
Dhoni has been a loyal member of the CSK franchise since the inception of the cash-rich league. The 38-year-old has led Chennai to three IPL titles, besides two Champions League titles in 2010 and 2014. He has so far played 190 IPL matches (including two editions for Rising Pune Supergiants) and has scored 4,432 runs, including 23 half-centuries.
(With inputs from PTI)