With Mahendra Singh Dhoni yet to feature in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), actor and European T20 Premier League (ETPL) co-founder Abhishek Bachchan said that he would love to see the former India captain playing in the brand new T20 league.
Talking to PTI, Bachchan was asked which player he would want to see in the ETPL, he instantly replied with “Mahendra Singh Dhoni”. “Do you need a reason why you want to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni in cricket?” he said from Dublin.
Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in 2020, still retains his superstar aura with the ability to fill up stadiums on virtue his name alone. However, with the former Chennai Super Kings skipper now 44 years of age, there have been speculations on when he decides to call it a day.
Dhoni’s absence was initially expected to be two-weeks long, but as the matches went on, it was prolonged, first due to the delay in his recovery and then about the problem in accommodating him in the team. It even prompted batting coach Mike Hussey to observe that Dhoni’s presence would be a distraction for the team.
“He’s such a team-orientated guy, MS Dhoni. He always wants what’s best for the team and he was worried that if he came, there’d be a bit too much of a distraction,” the Australian had said before the previous match against Mumbai Indians, explaining ‘Thala’s absence from the games.
“Obviously, the cameras would be on him a lot. The crowd would be cheering for him and things like that. And he really wanted the team to just be able to go about their job, do our thing.”
In the absence of their talismanic player, Chennai had started their campaign on a less than ideal note with 3 back to back losses. They have since recovered and currently sit at 5th on the points table with 6 wins and 5 losses.
