MS Dhoni certain to play the World Cup: Carl Hooper

The recent times for MS Dhoni haven’t been memorable by any means. He has failed miserably with the willow and has been a recipient of severe criticism so much so that he was once booed by the audience at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. To add to his misery, the Jharkhand-born cricketer has been left out of the T20I squads against Windies and Australia respectively.

Meanwhile, Carl Hooper, who led the Windies in the 2003 World Cup, believes that despite being sidelined from the shortest format, the 37-year-old remains to be an integral member of the ODI team and is certain to play the World Cup next year in England and Wales. Moreover, he reckons the selectors would clarify their plans to Dhoni surrounding him going into the future.

The issue is you stop on your terms

“I don’t know about him in T20s, but certainly in World Cup, he will be selected. He has played more than 300 ODIs for India, his experience will be valuable. I have seen Virat actually consult him on a number of occasions. I actually see him being selected for 50 overs format,” Hooper was quoted as saying in Sportstar.

“I am sure the selectors would speak to Dhoni and would indicate which direction they wanted to go in. He has served India well for a long time and is a former captain, so he deserves this much. You have to stop somewhere. But stopping is not the issue. The issue is you stop on your terms and (to ensure) that the selectors have communicated,” he added.

Apart from the T20I series in Australia later this year, the Men in Blue are also scheduled to play three ODIs and bearing in mind the fact that the veteran would be a part of the World Cup, he is most likely to be selected for the 50-overs series. The mega event gets underway on May 30. India will play their first match against South Africa on June 5 in Southampton.

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