Playing the 2019 World Cup is a long cherished dream for him, says MS Dhoni's manager Arun Pandey

There is not even an iota of doubt in anyone’s mind that MS Dhoni will call it a day after the 2019 Cricket World Cup. But his poor form with the bat has raised questions over his place in the team. Moreover, the selectors leaving Dhoni out of the T20I squads only added fuel to the fire that he might not get picked for the showpiece event next year. There were also the reports of the former Indian captain contesting the elections for the BJP in 2019.

However, Dhoni’s longtime friend and commerical interests manager, Arun Pandey, has refuted all the reports and has cleared that the cricketer is all set to give it a final shot during the World Cup next year. He also went on to say that India’s most successful skipper stepped down from the role only to give Kohli time to settle at the helm and he is going nowhere before the World Cup in England.

“It’s been a long cherished dream of Dhoni — since he gave up the captaincy in white ball cricket — to play in the World Cup next year where he would be more as a mentor to the team. His idea was to give Kohli time to develop in this role and there is still no change in his thinking,” Pandey said while speaking to the Gulf News.

Dhoni to play in January

MS Dhoni and his struggles with the willow are no more a secret now. He ended the 2018 without even a single ODI half-century and with no place in the T20I teams against the Windies and Australia, the veteran has already played his last game this year.

He will next be seen in the action in January during the three-match ODI series in Australia after which the Men in Blue are scheduled to play five matches in New Zealand. Dhoni has a total of 13 games to get back into his groove and it will be interesting to see the way he tackles this situation.

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