Revealed: Why Dhoni was not given a BCCI contract

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the Annual Player Central Contracts for the Indian Senior Men team on Thursday, and the one news that made waves was the omission of star player MS Dhoni. The wicket-keeper, who was in Grade A of the contracts in 2018-19 was left out for this season, which left tongues wagging about the player’s future in Team India.

It must be remembered that Dhoni has not played an international game for the team since the ICC World Cup semi-finals that was held in July 2019 against New Zealand. He ruled himself out of the following tour to West Indies to serve in the Indian Army and has made himself unavailable for the subsequent series’ – against South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia (all at home).

Sources have now revealed why the Ranchi player was left out. According to them, Dhoni was informed of his absence from the list before the announcement was made. According to an official in the BCCI, a player needs to play at least three T20 International matches in a season to be eligible for a BCCI central contract. As Dhoni has been on a long sabbatical since then, and with an unclear future ahead, the BCCI along with its President Sourav Ganguly took the decision to leave out the super star.

Earlier, Dwayne Bravo had conveyed to the media that he is hopeful of seeing Dhoni play in the World T20 Cup that will be held in Australia this year. Ravi Shastri, the head coach of Team India, had been frank in stating that Dhoni’s future with the side would depend on his returns in the IPL 2020. If Dhoni does go on to impress the selectors and seal a spot in the squad for the World Cup, he will get his match fees for the said event.