After being left out of the BCCI central contract’s list, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was seen training with the Jharkhand Ranji Trophy squad. This gave a possible hint about Dhoni’s future, and that he is looking to eye a comeback to the national team. The 38-year old was seen training at Ranchi in a nets session.
“Even we did not know that he was going to come and train with us. It was a pleasant surprise. He batted for a while and did the usual training routine, ” a source close to the Jharkhand team management told PTI.
“We are expecting him to train with the team regularly from now on. His presence can only help the players,” the source added.
Dhoni was also seen carrying a brand new bowling machine for his practice session. While the Ranji Trophy mates will be honing their skills against the red ball, Dhoni is keen to perfect his skills against the white ball as he gears up for what is likely to be an important IPL 2020.
Jharkhand play their next Ranji Trophy game against Uttarakhand from Sunday in Ranchi. They recently suffered an eight wicket defeat against Maharashtra in the match that was held in Nagothane. The team have gotten off to a decent start in the domestic FC tournament, winning two, losing two and drawing one game thus far.
Dhoni has not played a single international or domestic game since the semis of the World Cup last year in July against New Zealand that had ended in a heart breaking defeat.
However, he will be aware that the upcoming season of the IPL will be his last chance to fare well and stake a claim in the national team. Head coach Ravi Shastri too had earlier stated that Dhoni’s form in the upcoming T20 extravaganza would determine if Dhoni was able to book a spot in Team India’s World Cup T20 squad for the event that will be held in October this year.
