Just a couple of months ago, India’s selection panel dropped a huge bombshell by dropping MS Dhoni for the T20I series against Windies and Australia. The decision had come after Dhoni’s constant struggles with the bat. It was a tough pill to swallow for many who witnessed Dhoni’s role in making the T20 format a famous one in India.
Prior to being dropped, Dhoni was part of 93 of the 104 T20Is that India played since his debut in December 2006. In that time, he’s made 1487 runs at a strke-rate of 127, alongside 54 catches and 33 stumpings to become one of the most decorated players in the history of T20Is.
With Dhoni dropped, the selectors named Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant in the team, making it clear that they were finally ready to look beyond the under-performing veteran.
However, on Monday, they raised quite a few eyebrows by recalling Dhoni for the upcoming series in New Zealand. Interestingly, Karthik and Pant also managed to retain their spots in the team.
While, convenor of the selection committee, Amitabh Chaudhary stayed tight-lipped over the matter, a source close to BCCI revealed the reason behind the recall. The official said that Dhoni was included in the team so that he can get ample match-practise ahead of the next World Cup.
“Since there are only eight ODIs (three against Australia and five against New Zealand), selectors want to give MS as much game time as possible (before the World Cup). Three T20Is means 11 international matches through the next one month,” a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
India’s squad for T20I series against New Zealand:
Virat Kohli(Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed.