MS Dhoni reportedly informed by BCCI that he cannot be given a central contract for the time being

MS Dhoni being excluded from BCCI's central contract to players has further reduced the hopes of his return to international cricket. Dhoni last played an international game for India when they lost to New Zealand in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni was reportedly told before the declaration of the list that he could not be included for the time being. Having not played any international cricket for over six months, the chances of Dhoni being seen again in the blue jersey are very slim.

“Let me clarify that one of the top-most BCCI office-bearers spoke to MS and told him about how they are going about in the central contracts. He was clearly told that since he hasn’t played any game in the said period (September 2019 till date), he cannot be included for the time being,” the official told PTI.

"The fact is that a player of his stature needs to be told that he is not being awarded a central contract for the time being and it was done in an appropriate manner,” the official further added.

The BCCI announces the Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Saini, Mayank, Shreyas, Washington and Deepak Chahar get annual player contracts.More details here - https://t.co/84iIn1vs9B #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/S6ZPq7FBt1

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 16, 2020

If Dhoni is able to have a fantastic IPL 2020, and if he is back in contention for India's T20 squad for the World Cup, he can be given a contract on a pro-rata basis.

“There will be an Asia Cup T20 (likely to be shifted from Pakistan) and if Dhoni plays a certain number of matches, he will be automatically included. It’s not like he has been dumped for good. It’s just that he doesn’t qualify because he has not played,” the official said.

Also see – IPL 2020 Teams

The official explained that since Dhoni did not play the minimum number of matches required to get a contract, and hence he was not eligible. When asked about his ODI retirement, the source said that it was Dhoni himself who will decide when he wants to hang up his gloves.