Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer believes the Men in Blue could not afford to look beyond Mahendra Singh Dhoni going into the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup if the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman is fit and in form.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Jaffer wrote that including Dhoni back into the national squad would ease the pressure off KL Rahul and Rishabha Pant, who recently served as the wicketkeepers for India in the abcense of the former skipper.
The 42-year-old believes Dhoni's inclusion would provide Pant an opportunity to play freely as a batsman.
"If Dhoni is fit and in form I think we can't look beyond him as he'll be an asset behind the stumps and also lower down the order. It'll take the pressure of keeping off Rahul and India can play Pant as a batsman too if they want a lefty," he tweeted.
If Dhoni is fit and in form I think we can't look beyond him as he'll be an asset behind the stumps and also lower down the order. It'll take the pressure of keeping off Rahul and India can play Pant as a batsman too if they want a lefty. #Dhoni #MSDhoni #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/6ndDfdhkap
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 18, 2020
Notably, Dhoni has been on an indefinite break since India's semi-final exit at the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup at the hands of New Zealand. He missed series against South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies before he was also not named in the Indian squad for the series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was all set to return for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Howevever, the 2020 IPL--which was originaly slated to take place from March 29 to May 24--was suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) till April 15 due to coronavirus outbreak.
