MS Dhoni rules himself out of Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament

What's the story?

Amidst a lot of speculation, former Indian captain MS Dhoni ruled himself out of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, which is the domestic T20 tournament in India.

"Yesterday, Dhoni has officially told us that he would not be available for the tournament," JSCA secretary Debasish Chakrabarty told Sportstar.

In case you didn't know...

Dhoni, who is currently in his hometown of Ranchi, informed the team management that he would not take part in the tournament.

Dhoni was visiting the JSCA stadium regularly; Hence, the JSCA officials were hoping for the former Indian captain to light up the Syed Mushtag Ali tournament and guide their state to victory.

The details:

He was recently retained by the Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, and hence, there were a lot of speculations regarding his participation in the domestic T20 tournament ahead of the cash-rich IPL.

Along with him, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja were also retained by the franchise.

With Dhoni ruling himself out, the JSCA officials will look to get someone else in Dhoni's place for the domestic tournament.

Meanwhile, Baroda left former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan out of their squad for the tournament. IPL star Deepak Hooda will be captaining the side.

What's next?

The tournament is scheduled to take place from January 7-27.

Author's take:

Dhoni's inclusion in Jharkhand's squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament would have been a big boost to the side. However, the former Indian captain will look to gear himself up for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against South Africa.

He has been in great form over the past few months and will look to perform well in the tough conditions in the African continent and help guide the Men in Blue to their first-ever series victory.