MS Dhoni will need match practice to make a comeback, says Mohammad Azharuddin

Former India cricketer, Mohammad Azharuddin has claimed that MS Dhoni will need to get enough match practice to make a comeback into the Indian team.

MS Dhoni last turned out for India during the 2019 World Cup, and a lot of former cricketers were of the opinion that the 2011 World Cup-winning captain needed to have a good IPL to make the Indian World T20 squad.

However, with IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely, MS Dhoni's return to the sport has been delayed, raising questions of his possible return to the Indian limited-overs setup.

In a conversation with ANI, Azharuddin made mention of MS Dhoni needing to take a personal decision regarding when he wants to get back to playing cricket.

"Dhoni can explain better than me about what he wants and it will be his personal decision. See as of now, the situation is not good and that is why IPL is not taking place and I feel it will take some time to get things sorted out. But for Dhoni, it is his personal decision," said Azharuddin.

A number of former Indian cricketers such as Kris Srikkanth, Aakash Chopra have expressed their opinions on how the former India captain might not make the Indian squad and miss out from taking part in the World T20.

"MS Dhoni will need match practice"

Will MS Dhoni return to the national side?

Speaking from the selectors' point of view, Azharuddin also added that the Chennai Super Kings captain has been away from the field for a long time, and will need to get some games under his belt soon.

"Definitely, the selectors will look at the performance because playing after a long gap is not that easy, match practice is really important and it does not matter how big a player you are, you have to play some matchess. Practicing and playing matches are two different things," Azharuddin added.

With the possible commencement date of the IPL still in doubt, time could be running out for MS Dhoni to make a mark before the World T20. However, with the pandemic delaying many big-ticket cricketing events, it remains to be seen if the global event does take place as scheduled in October this year.