MS Dhoni’s India ambitions might be over, feels Harsha Bhogle
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Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle feels that former India skipper MS Dhoni is done with the blue jersey of the national side and will step down quietly. But Bhogle believes that Dhoni still wants to take the field for CSK and pay back all the love the fans have bestowed on him over the years.
The ever-worsening COVID-19 pandemic has cast a huge shadow on the future of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having already been postponed to April 15, Indian government’s 21-day complete lockdown of the nation might be the final knockout blow to the cash rich league.
But as IPL’s chances get slimmer and slimmer, a bigger question arises on the horizon, a question that has been lingering around the Indian cricket team since their World Cup semifinal debacle but now it seems stronger than ever - what is MS Dhoni’s future in Indian side? Renowned cricket pundit Harsha Bhogle came up with an answer of his own and he believes that the former Indian captain might be done with the blue jersey of Indian side and will step down as quietly he relinquished captaincy or walked away from Test cricket.
“My gut feel is that his (Dhoni’s) India ambitions might be over. I don’t think Dhoni would have been looking to September-October for the T20 World Cup. Maybe if he just had a great IPL but my gut feel is that was beyond him,” Bhogle told on a Cricbuzz podcast.
But on the other hand, Bhogle feels that Dhoni might be eager to take the field for his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Bhogle shared that he has felt this soft side of Dhoni where he is humbled by all the love that CSK fans have bestowed on him and is desperate to pay them back with his loyalty.
“I still do believe so that Dhoni desperately turnout for CSK. The reason I think so. Last year towards towards the end of the IPL, towards the end of the league stage I got an opportunity f doing a couple of post match presentations and there was Dhoni and he wasn’t holding back at the presentations which were normally three four minutes but this one seven to nine minutes almost and when Dhoni is in that talkative mode we don’t stop him.
“I asked him what it feels to be called Thalaiva by the CSK fans and what it meant to someone who was always associated to Ranchi to get this love from Chennai and for the first time I saw a little bit of softeness behind this facade that tells you nothing. He talked about the great honour of being given this title, he said that when people give you that title how much they love and he said there is a lot of gratitude, I feel so greatly when I am among these fans. I thought there was this slightly softer side of Dhoni and that’s why Dhoni still wants to give back to CSK,” Bhogle signed off.
