Will Dhoni not play T-20 in front of South Africa? Little hope of return

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Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni may not have decided to retire from the international level, but he is unlikely to be selected in India’s three-match T20 domestic series against South Africa starting in Dharamsala from September 15 is. The selection of the team for the series is expected on September 4. The other two matches will be played in Mohali (18 September) and Bengaluru (22 September).

There is every possibility that the team that defeated the West Indies 3–0 should be retained (given fitness). The selection committee for team selection wants to keep in mind the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia on October 2020. A senior BCCI official said on Wednesday, “The Indian team will play only 22 T20 Internationals before the T20 World Cup and the selectors are clear that it is time to move on.”

He said, “He is planning to create a pool of three wicketkeepers for limited-overs, especially for T20.” It is not yet clear whether BCCI officials or selection committee will talk to Dhoni to get information about his plans, as he did before the West Indies tour. When the former captain had informed that he wanted to take a break in view of working for his regiment in the Territorial Army.

The official said, ‘Retiring is a personal decision and the selectors or no one has the right to decide on it, but they have full authority to prepare the roadmap for the 2020 T20 World Cup and under it Rishabh This includes giving more and more opportunities to Pant.

It is learned that the second option of the selection committee will be Ishaan Kishan and the third option will be Sanju Samson. Samson’s batting is considered to be equal to Pant and India-A regular Ishaan Kishan. Pant will continue to be the first option in all formats, as the selectors will also keep fitness and workload management in mind.

Some members of the selection committee will stay in Thiruvananthapuram for the A-series and see Samson’s performance as he makes it to the squad for the last two List-A matches. As far as batting is concerned, the selection committee believes that Samson is ready for top-level cricket, but his wicketkeeping is still improving.