He can be seen growing strawberries or indulging in poultry farming on the rear side of his seven-acre property in Ranchi these days. The other times he could be seen taking care of his arsenal of bikes and super cars, or one would read reports of him playing with his loyal pet dogs. Amidst all of this, MS Dhoni would spare his time for a couple of months or so, go neck-to-neck against the best international players in the world and win his team their fifth Indian Premier League title! Simple, isn’t it?
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The triumph arrives in an ODI World Cup year. India is set to host this biggest showpiece event in the sport after more than a decade. Interestingly, it has been a decade since the side has lifted an ICC trophy.
In the previous two IPL seasons, Chennai Super Kings captain has averaged 30.54 and scored 336 runs at a strike rate of 137.14. In IPL 2023, he struck at a strike rate of 182.45, smashing a total of 10 sixes while coming in to bat mostly during the fag end of each innings.
With wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant out of the World Cup, and KL Rahul nursing an injury as well, your presence of sanity and cricketing knowledge shouldn’t perhaps be questioned if you wish to have the experienced 42-year-old player back in the Indian team for the imminent World Cup.
Will MS Dhoni Play ICC World Cup 2023?
Unfortunately, NO. Having retired from international cricket in August 2020, Dhoni has, not for once, even hinted on a reconsideration of a U-turn from ODI retirement in order to partake in the upcoming World Cup.
To be pragmatic, he might have displayed his muscular strength and made his fans experience nostalgia with his ability to hit huge sixes, but there was a definite reason why he decided to hang up his boots in the first place four years ago.
Moreover, even if Rahul isn’t fit enough by the time the World Cup arrives, India are not short of wicket-keeping options considering its vast pool of talent. The likes of Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are a couple of adept enough names in this department.
Rather, what would be fair on Dhoni is to celebrate his enviable achievements as player and captain of the team during his playing days, instead of having unrealistic expectations from the man in fit of desperation of a title.
MS Dhoni ODI World Cup Record
Very few players in the cricketing history can boast of a record as stellar as Dhoni’s in ODI World Cups, both with respect to captaincy and batting.
Having played 29 matches across four ODI World Cups (2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019), Dhoni had an opportunity to bat as many as 25 times. He scored a collective of 780 runs at an average of 43.33 including five half-centuries. With a highest score of 91* (during 2011 World Cup final), he smashed 59 fours and 15 sixes and remained not out on seven occasions.
As a captain, the veteran wicket-keeper batter played the 2011 and 2015 editions of the ODI World Cup. Leading across 17 matches, India emerged victorious in 14, lost a couple, while one match ended in a tie.
