Published 11:04 IST, November 26th 2019
Bangladesh could make MS Dhoni's international comeback happen in March 2020, here's how
Bangladesh is scheduled to host two T20Is between Asia XI and Rest of the World. BCB has requested the BCCI to allow its top 7 players to play in the fixture.
India recently declared their limited-overs squads for the upcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. Many fans were left disappointed as former skipper MS Dhoni was once again overlooked by the selectors. Hence, it has been believed that Dhoni would make his cricketing comeback only in the IPL 2020, in which he captains Chennai Super Kings.
MS Dhoni: Will he make a comeback and when?
However, according to a report by a leading Indian media daily on Monday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has requested the BCCI to allow seven of its top players to participate in the two ‘Asia XI vs Rest of the World XI’ T20Is which are scheduled to be held in Bangladesh in Dhaka on March 18 and 21.
The cricketers that the BCB has reportedly requested to include for the fixtures are Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja.
BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhary said Bangladesh was scheduled to host two T20 Internationals between Asia XI and the Rest of the World. He added that they were in touch with the BCCI and other cricket boards of the Asian region to allow their players to be part of these two games.
The two T20Is between Asia XI and Rest of the World XI will be played in Dhaka on March 18 and 21 in order to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first-ever Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who was assassinated in 1975.
The BCB President Nazmul Hossain Papon had promised to bring the best cricketers of the world on board for the occasion to make it a grand event. The matches have been approved by the International Cricket Council.
In the past as well, such events have been celebrated. In 1993, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had organized the much-hyped Hero Cup to celebrate its Diamond Jubilee while in 2004, the BCCI had invited Pakistan to play a one-off ODI at the Eden Gardens to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee. In 2018, Sri Lanka organized the Nidahas Tri-Nation trophy to celebrate the nation’s 70th independence anniversary.
Will BCCI return the favour?
BCB had accepted BCCI’s request to play the Day-Night Test, therefore it is likely that BCCI might consider returning the favour. However, the only potential roadblock to this development is the fact that the Indian team will be playing the final ODI of the three-match series against South Afric in Kolkata on March 18.
If Dhoni does not make it to the national squad, which is very likely, the fans may just get lucky to witness him in an international fixture perhaps for one last time.
Updated 12:11 IST, November 26th 2019