ICC T20 WC 2020 | India team needs MS Dhoni for T20 World Cup, reveals Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina was finally back on the field, following a lay-off where he underwent knee surgery. Ahead of the 2020 IPL season, the left-handed batsman acknowledged that MS Dhoni still has cricket left in him to play in the T20 World Cup later this year. Raina admitted that the 38-year-old Dhoni is still in good fitness and is working hard for the IPL season. However, he ceded that the decision would be taken by the Indian skipper Virat Kohli ahead of the mega-event in Australia. 

“Dhoni will probably be coming to Chennai in the first week of March to train ahead of the IPL. If he wants to leave the game, he will go without making a big fuss. I want to see him continue to play. He is looking fit and has been training hard. I still think the Indian team needs him. But it is Virat's call on how they go forward,” said Raina, reported Times of India. 

Following that, the left-hander took a call on the middle-order problem for the Indian cricket team. Raina admitted that expectations on the duo of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in the middle order is too high. He further added that they should be given the assurance of not being dropped from the team for them to perform consistently. 

“The support of the captain and team management will definitely solve this middle-order drama. You can't expect (Shreyas) Iyer and (Rishabh) Pant to score big runs in every game. You have to give them the assurance that they will not be dropped. Iyer is very good at No. 4. I am sure Pant too will make a lot of difference because he is a left-hander,” he added. 

However, the southpaw said that the onus is upon Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to give youngsters the right advice before the mega-tournament.

“I do think Virat knows what he is doing. Rohit has a lot of experience too. So I am sure they will give youngsters the right advice,” he concluded.