MS Dhoni To Come Out Of Test Retirement For WTC Final? Ravi Shastri Has His Say

India have selected KS Bharat as the designated wicketkeeper in the 15-member squad for the WTC final. But Shastri was asked if MS Dhoni should be considered for a place in the team.

MS Dhoni has been in good form especially with the gloves behind the stumps in IPL 2023.

Source : PTI

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has shared his opinion on whether MS Dhoni will seriously consider coming out of Test retirement to be part of the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia.

Notably, the unavailability of Rishabh Pant has affected the balance of the side. The stumper had been an improved gloveman behind the stumps but also the sheer authority with which he plays his strokes to change the complexion of the match in a span of a few overs, was something that even opponents had a hard time planning against.

As he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained in a car accident in December last year, Team India has trusted KS Bharat to do the job for them in Test matches. Apart from him, KL Rahul finds his name in India's squad for the WTC final with a few experts backing him to do be the keeper in this one-off game as it adds more soldity to the batting order.

Talking about the same issue on Cricinfo, former India head coach Ravi Shastri was asked if MS Dhoni should be considered given that he is fit and at his best with the gloves behind the stumps in the ongoing edition of the IPL. To this, Shastri gave a well-rounded answer.

"Oh yeah. He has shown up a lot of young keepers in the country with the way he has kept behind the stumps, the way he has moved just for someone who doesn't play first-class cricket just to pitch up," he said acknowledging Dhoni's high fitness standard at 41.

"Nah. Once MS makes up his mind, he makes up his mind. To leave 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, big crowd, nice ceremony, nice presentation, 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," Shastri added, making it clear that it is unlikely that Dhoni will come out of retirement.