The extension of the postponement of the IPL 2020 is delaying the 38-year-old MS Dhoni’s return to the cricket. The veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has recently opened up his view on Dhoni’s future in international cricket.
The former Indian World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni hasn’t played a cricket match for more than last nine months. Dhoni last time played a cricket match during the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against New Zealand on 10th July 2019. Since then, he continuously made himself unavailable for the selections of the game.
However, recently, Dhoni has confirmed his participation in the IPL 2020 where he will continue the captaincy role for the most consistent side in the league, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The IPL 2020 was initially scheduled to be played from 29th March to 24th May 2020. But the tournament has been postponed amid coronavirus outbreak, and the tournament is still widely doubtful.
Meanwhile, there is still no clarification on Dhoni’s future in international cricket which is continuously raising the speculation of his retirement from international cricket. But, some experts still believe that his performances in the IPL 2020 can decide the future of his international career, mostly for the T20I career.
MS Dhoni has done a lot for Indian cricket: Harbhajan Singh
However, Harbhajan Singh feels that Dhoni’s international cricket future is not dependent on the IPL performances. He highly praised his former national team captain and present IPL team captain.
Harbhajan told IANS, “How do you judge Dhoni? Do you see his IPL form or give him respect and consider the fact that he is one of India’s greatest players and captains. The guy has done a lot for Indian cricket.”
Harbhajan has further added that if Dhoni is available and the team needs him, they just need to pick him without thinking much.
The veteran off-spinner said, “MS Dhoni is a big big player. He doesn’t need to be told if he is capable or not. So I don’t think you need to ponder too much about it. If you think you need Dhoni, and if he is available, you pick him.”
Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, India won the ICC World T20 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013, as well as, India also achieved the no.1-position in the ICC Test team rankings.