Will Dhoni play for India again? Sehwag doesn’t think so

With the start of IPL 2020 deferred, and no real surety of the tournament commencing on the rescheduled start date of April 15, there has been talk of how IPL’s potential cancellation will affect MS Dhoni‘s chances of playing for India again.

Dhoni hasn’t played for India since the 2019 World Cup, and India’s selectors have made it clear that they have moved on. But with former captain not announcing his retirement, it was assumed that Dhoni would attempt to force himself back into the Indian side on the weight of his performances for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020, ahead of the men’s T20 World Cup later this year.

However, former India opener Virender Sehwag believes there is no chance of Dhoni playing for India again, irrespective of what happens with the IPL. “Where will he fit in?” Sehwag was quoted as saying by Times of India.

[caption id=”attachment_140146″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Will Dhoni play for India again? ‘Where will he fit in,’ asks Sehwag[/caption]

“With the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul already in form, especially the latter performing exceptionally well of late, I think there is no reason why we should not stick with them.”

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That wasn’t the line of thinking for Aakash Chopra, though. The former opener, who played 10 Tests for India between 2003 and 2004, and is now a respected commentator, said the IPL had no bearing on Dhoni’s chances of playing for India.

“For a player like Dhoni, IPL was never going to be a yardstick. If he had scored runs in the IPL, experts would have been like ‘select Dhoni’, ‘do this and do that’. MS Dhoni knows what he is doing, whether he wants to come back or not,” Chopra said in his YouTube series.

‘Dhoni finishes off in style!’

Captain cool’s World Cup-winning 91* is No.4 on Wisden’s Men’s ODI innings of the decade ?

✍️ @GedeRoshan https://t.co/s9WvxWc4Bc

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 10, 2019

“IPL, I don’t think was a critical factor. If he wants to come back, he will make himself available; if the selectors decide to pick him, he will be picked automatically because you won’t get experience in supermarkets.

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“Dhoni is a hugely experienced player. If India needs MS Dhoni, then with or without IPL, he will come back.”

For his part, Dhoni was in Chennai early in March, training with CSK, but has now returned home to Ranchi, following the tournament’s delayed start.