The cancellation of practice sessions and the postponement of the IPL season at least till 15 April also implied that the 38-year-old will now get fewer games under his belt
India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)
There have been a lot of speculations surrounding MS Dhoni’s future ever since he took a sabbatical from international cricket after India’s semi-final exit from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
However, it was pretty clear that Dhoni would be leading the popular franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the forthcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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Now with no clarity over the IPL 2020, Dhoni does not have too many options to show that he is still good enough and fit to feature in the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in Australia in October.
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Dhoni was recently spotted in the nets, training with his CSK teammates ahead of the season. However, all franchises participating in the league including CSK were forced to cancel their net sessions in view of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The cancellation of nets and the postponement of the season at least till 15 April also implied that the 38-year-old will now get fewer games than a usual season since even if the IPL happens this season, it is expected to be a truncated one.
It is in this context that legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has opined that it seems extremely unlikely now that Dhoni would be part of the Indian squad that would go out to participate in the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia.
“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 was quoted as saying by Dainik Jagran.
It remains to be seen if the IPL indeed happens this season amid the global health concerns posed by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
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