The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Wednesday a 15-member Team India squad to take part in the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman between October 17 to November 14 2021. While the selection of Ravichandran Ashwin came as a surprise, the announcement of former World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni joining as mentor left many in jubilation. Many former cricketers and experts weighed in on the squad and also opined about Dhoni’s involvement with the Virat Kohli-led team.
The BCCI wrote on Twitter: “Former India Captain @msdhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup” – Honorary Secretary @JayShah.”
“Former India Captain @msdhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup” – Honorary Secretary @JayShah #TeamIndia
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021
Cricketer Dinesh Karthik wrote: “That is one HELL of a team . Well done selectors. M S DHONI – that’s a master stroke too. Congrats to everyone but more so to @ashwinravi99 and @chakaravarthy29 from my neck of the woods. Well done boys.”
That is one HELL of a team . Well done selectors .
M S DHONI – that’s a master stroke too
Congrats to everyone but more so to @ashwinravi99 and @chakaravarthy29 from my neck of the woods. Well done boys https://t.co/ovJlGBH95g
— DK (@DineshKarthik) September 8, 2021
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer added a touch of humour while revealing his surprise at Dhoni’s addition:
MS Dhoni after making a surprise entry into the Indian dressing room for #t20worldcup2021 pic.twitter.com/xhJtxqes7m
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) September 8, 2021
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha also congratulated the team and wrote: “Two big boosts from the announcement of the team for the T20 World Cup! #Ashwin & #MSD as mentor! Brilliant @BCCI @JayShah @SGanguly99.”
Two big boosts from the announcement of the team for the T20 World Cup! #Ashwin & #MSD as mentor! Brilliant @bcci @JayShah @SGanguly99
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) September 8, 2021
Here’ how some of the other fans reacted:
Bcci president – dada
Mentor – ms dhoni
Captian- kohli
Vice captain – RohitThis world cup gonna be fire
— Ritik Khugshal (@KhugshalRitik) September 8, 2021
Retweet if you can’t wait to see him back after so long!#Dhoni #MSDhoni #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/wtOjLdMZAy
— MS Dhoni Fans Official (@msdfansofficial) September 8, 2021
MS Dhoni is back in blues!
Mahi is all set to join as Team India’s Mentor in the World T20 Cup. #TeamIndia #Dhoni #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/TbfigZKP07
— MS Dhoni Fans Official (@msdfansofficial) September 8, 2021
Team India Squad:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun C, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami
Team India standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
Topics mentioned in this article