Dhoni to mentor Kohli & Co at T20 WC

New Delhi, September 8

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Iconic former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was today brought in as mentor of India’s 15-member T20 World Cup squad by the BCCI, a move that took everyone by surprise.

“Former India captain MS Dhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup,” announced BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a press conference to unveil the squad for the event scheduled to start from October 17 in the UAE and Oman.

“(I) spoke to him in Dubai. He agreed and I discussed with my colleagues and all are on same page. I spoke to captain (Virat Kohli) and vice-captain (Rohit Sharma) and everyone agreed,” he added.

The 40-year-old Dhoni retired from international cricket last year having played his last game in 2019 World Cup semifinal.

Ashwin returns, Dhawan out

Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin returned to India’s white-ball outfit after four years when he was included in the squad alongside the fast-rising trio of Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy. The 34-year-old Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017.

Also making the squad was Suryakumar Yadav, the 30-year-old Mumbai batsman who has been making a name for himself for his power-hitting. Kishan (23) and Chakaravarthy (30) have been rewarded for their consistent performance in the IPL and also in the opportunities they got with the Indian team.

The big names to be dropped were opener Shikhar Dhawan and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. — PTI