Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif who played Tests and ODIs. He made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the India national under-19 cricket team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. He retired from all formats of cricket on 13 July 2018.
Kaif on Wednesday backed MS Dhoni to play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, saying that the wicket-keeper batsman has ”a lot of cricket” left in him and ruling him out will be ”unfair”. “See, people may have eyes on Dhoni that how he is going to play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) and then there will be talks of the T20 World Cup but my view is different from others. I do not judge Dhoni based on his IPL form. He is a great batsman and he is fit now. He wants to play IPL, do captaincy and is showing his availability. He has a winning mentality and knows how to win games under pressure,” Kaif told ANI.
“So, I think ruling him out will be unfair. See a lot of cricket is still left in Dhoni and when a player plays for this long, there are ups and downs in his career. It happens with every cricketer, not just Dhoni,” he added.
Team India former skipper MS Dhoni has been last seen in world cup semi final match against New Zealand where India lost the match. His name hit the media when BCCI announced the center contracted player list without MS Dhoni’s name.
Despite Dhoni failing to take India over the line, Kaif termed him a ”champion player”.
“The semifinal of World Cup which we lost, everyone was expecting Dhoni to win it but it did not happen. So, from there on, people thought that Dhoni should not be there. But for me, Dhoni is a champion player. People should look at Dhoni’s record in the last 10 to 15 years. See, the current form is important but at the same time his form was not that bad that you rule him out,” Kaif said.
The ICC T20 world cup was planned to host by Australia between October 18 and November 15 this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the host cancelled all the in and out sports tournaments.
Indian government extend the lock down till May 3rd in order to control the spread of corona virus. “IPL 2020 season has been postponed indefinitely,” sources within BCCI told ANI on Wednesday.
“In the present scenario, life is more important than sports. I think the decision of BCCI is right. When the situation improves, we will think of sports. Sporting events all over the world have either been postponed or cancelled. In our country, cases are rising. So, as of now, the situation is not under control. So I think it”s the right decision because at this stage first priority is to beat coronavirus and save the people,” he said.
When asked about his views on the window for IPL, Kaif said: “I feel when things are sorted out and there is the possibility of games to be played, then they (BCCI) will look for options.”
Regards Indian former skipper MS Dhoni’s return many revealed their thoughts and plot the possibilities. Where Indian former player Sunil Gavaskar suggest Dhoni should retire silently and Sehwag advice team India to play with their current wicket keeper batsman.
Australian bowler Brad Hogg too predict the possibilities of MS Dhoni’s return to International squad if IPL 2020 cancelled.
