MS Dhoni is back with Team India but in a role that will be new to everyone. BCCI on Wednesday announced India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup and also revealed that former Indian skipper Dhoni will travel to the UAE and Oman as the mentor. This sent the cricketing world into a frenzy, with numerous experts and cricketers, along with fans, lauding the decision. The latest person to jump on the bandwagon is Gautam Gambhir.
Former India opener Gambhir, who was a part of India's 2011 World Cup-winning team led by Dhoni, said that his experiences of handling pressure in important games will be a huge advantage for the young players picked.
"A good story to have, but I'm sure his (MS Dhoni) role will be defined because you've got the head coach, the assistant coach and the bowling coach. So, I'm sure there has to be something from Virat Kohli or Ravi Shastri on what they would want apart from what they already have because India has been very successful in T20 Cricket. It's not like India has struggled in T20 cricket," Gambhir said on Star Sports' show 'Follow The Blues'.
"Had India struggled in T20 cricket, they might have had to get someone from outside, but Dhoni's experience and his mindset of handling pressure in those crunched games could be one reason why they've got him as a mentor - not purely from the skill point of view, because these guys have got all the skill, to go out there and deliver. It's probably, how to handle pressure during those important games because India had missed out on those important games - especially the knockout games," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"Had India struggled in T20 cricket, they might have had to get someone from outside, but Dhoni's experience and his mindset of handling pressure in those crunched games could be one reason why they've got him as a mentor - not purely from the skill point of view, because these guys have got all the skill, to go out there and deliver. It's probably, how to handle pressure during those important games because India had missed out on those important games - especially the knockout games," he added.
{{/usCountry}}Further talking about Dhoni, Gambhir said: "So probably MS Dhoni's experience of captaining this side and handling that pressure in those important games could be a huge advantage for young players. And you have to remember that most of these guys are young, for example, your Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy or any of these batters play - they've not been to any of the World Cups. So, I'm sure MS will share his experience."
"That probably is the only thing I can think of; apart from that, I don't see him (Dhoni) changing anything from a skill point of view. Ravi Shastri's been there, Vikram Rathour has been there, and the entire support staff is there. So, probably MS can only add his experience to the players while probably going into the crunch games," he added.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday said he spoke with former skipper Dhoni on being the mentor for the upcoming T20 World Cup, and added that the current team management is on the same page about the decision