Dhoni can play till 2023 WC: Clarke

Photo: AP

Kolkata: Former Australia captain Michael Clarke is not ruling out the possibility of wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni being part of India's 2023 World Cup plans.

"Don't ask me whether he will play in the 2019 World Cup. He will play in 2023," Clarke said smiling when quizzed whether the former India captain could play the ICC 2019 World Cup in England.

Whether Clarke meant it or not is anybody's guess, but the in-form Ranchi batsman who has led India to 2011 World Cup glory on home soil has been in good form lately.

It was Dhoni's 79 along with Pandya scoring a 66-ball 83 that helped India get out of a hole in the first ODI in Chennai. 

India were down and out at 87/5 when the pair joined hands for a 118-run stand. India posted 281/7 and the Aussies eventually lost by 26 runs in a truncated match with only 21 overs of play possible and a revised score of 164 to chase.

Dhoni played important knocks in Sri Lanka as well. Coach Ravi Shastri had previously asserted that Dhoni has both fitness and current form on his side and that the team will need him in the next ODI World Cup.