MS Dhoni to mentor Team India for ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday (September 8) announced that the former India skipper MS Dhoni will mentor Team India for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE. The announcement was made by BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

Notably, Dhoni was the captain of the Indian cricket team which won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. The former India wicketkeeper-batsman played 98 T20Is in his career and scored 1617 runs at an average of 37.6 and a strike rate of 126.13.

MS Dhoni in ICC T20 World Cups:

• 2007 - Captain
• 2009 - Captain
• 2010 - Captain
• 2012 - Captain
• 2014 - Captain
• 2016 - Captain
• 2021 - Mentor

"Mr Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be joining Team India as mentor for the upcoming T20 World Cup. I am glad that MS has accepted BCCI's offer and he is keen to contribute to the national team once again. MS will work closely with Mr Ravi Shastri as well as other support staff to provide support and direction to Team India," said Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the media in a virtual interaction.

"Former India Captain @msdhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup" - Honorary Secretary @JayShah #TeamIndia

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021

Meanwhile, BCCI announced the India squad for the T20 World Cup, and in a surprise move, R Ashwin has been included in the team which will begin its campaign in the showpiece event against arch-rivals Pakistan. He had last played a T20I against West Indies in July 2017.

Also, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal miss out as KL Rahul and Varun Chakravarthy have been named in the squad.

Here’s the Team India squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2021:

Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.

Standby players – Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has the hosting rights, the tournament has been moved out of the country with an eye on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably, India have been placed in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup alongside Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and two qualifiers.

The Virat Kohli-led team will start their campaign in a blockbuster clash with Pakistan on October 24. India will play all but one of their four matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. They will take on Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The tournament will get underway from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14. The tournament will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on October 17, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, clashing in the evening match.

India's T20 World Cup Schedule: Oct 24: vs Pakistan (Dubai), Oct 31: vs New Zealand (Dubai); Nov 3: vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi); Nov 5: vs Qualifier - B1 (Dubai); Nov 8: vs Qualifier - A2 (Dubai).