Should India make Dhoni request for WTC final amid KL Rahul-KS Bharat debate? Shastri gives bombastic response

Ravi Shastri was asked whether Dhoni should come out of retirement for WTC final and he came up with a bombastic response.

For a cricketer in his 40s, having retired from international cricket for almost three years and last played the sport exactly a year back, MS Dhoni has looked better that most other active players in the ongoing IPL 2023. With his ability to hit sixes at will irrespective of the scenarios, he still is a nightmare for bowlers and remains phenomenal with the gloves as usual besides his captaincy. Such has been Dhoni's form in IPL 2023 that fans have wondered whether he should make a comeback for a one-off cause to guide India to an ICC trophy. Former India coach Ravi Shastri was asked the same and he came up with a bombastic response with reference to the impending World Test Championship final.

MS Dhoni; Ravi Shastri

Earlier this week, BCCI's selection committee announced a 15-member squad for the WTC final, slated to take place at The Oval between June 7 and 11 against Australia.

The selectors picked KS Bharat as the lone wicketkeeping option for the big final. Although, since the Border-Gavaskar Test series, veterans and experts have offered a mixed view on whether India should consider Bharat as the wicketkeeper for the match given his low returns with the bat. Rahul, who has donned the gloves in white-ball cricket, instead has emerged as the option among many with the explanation that the batter has a good record in England and has scored a ton at The Oval as well.

With the debate still standing and amid Dhoni's unthinkable form in IPL 2023, fans have wondered whether the former India skipper should consider coming back from retirement and go for the WTC final.

Shastri was asked the same during his conversation with ESPNCricinfo and he he said: “Oh ya. He has shown a lot of young keepers in the country with the way he has kept in IPL for someone who doesn't play first-class cricket.”

When asked whether BCCI should sit down with Dhoni and discuss a possibility, Shastri said that the CSK legend was never in the game for records and statistics. He explained that once he made up his mind, to not play Test cricket anymore, no one can make him undo it.

“Once MS makes up his mind, he makes up his mind. In Test cricket, where he could have easily played for a year or year and a half, if he was statistically driven like our country is then he would have loved that 100 Test match mark, that big crowd, nice ceremony, walk around the crowd, say good bye to everyone...he doesn't want that. He's like hands up, new man is there, let him be,” he said.

Dhoni had retired from Tests in December 2014. He later announced his international retirement in 2020.