New Delhi: After the team’s disappointing exit at the semifinals stage from the recently-concluded Men’s T20 World Cup, the Indian cricket board will initiate measures to put the T20 team back on track. One of the steps reportedly under consideration is to use the experience and skills of M.S. Dhoni, in some capacity, to prepare and plan for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket loss to England in the semifinals as the Men in Blue failed to bring home a T20 World Cup title once again.
A lot of criticism followed, where experts and fans slammed India’s ‘old-school’ approach to T20 cricket. There have been calls to split the coaches’ roles too and the issue could come up for discussion during the BCCI’s Apex Council meeting later this month.
According to a report in The Telegraph, former India skipper M.S. Dhoni could be in for a stint with the Indian T20 side. The 41-year-old is likely to hang up his boots after IPL 2023 and post that, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are keen to use his experience and skills in grooming the T20 side.
The former captain, who was incidentally the last Indian skipper to win an ICC title, had worked as a mentor for India at the last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE but that was in an interim capacity.
However, the BCCI could give him a bigger role with the squad in the shortest format as he could help them play the fearless brand of cricket needed for the modern-day T20 format.
The report further claims that Dhoni might get to work with a specialised set of players in the T20 side and help them excel in the format since managing three formats is proving to be too demanding for head coach Rahul Dravid.
Though the development has not been confirmed, the involvement of Dhoni, under whom Team India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, with the squad in some capacity could be a big move by BCCI.
IANS
