MS Dhoni to play ODI series without any match practice
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India's limited-overs captain MS Dhoni is most likely to play his first international match in two and half months against England in the first ODI on 15th January with no official game time. Dhoni played his last ODI match against New Zealand at Visakhapatnam on October 29.
While there is a protocol for injured players to play at least one first-class game before being considered for national selection, there is no such rule for former Test captain MS Dhoni. Previously, Dhoni prepared for the limited overs series in Australia in 2015 by playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Jharkhand. But with this year's edition of the tournament to commence after the England ODI series, Dhoni will most likely go into the series without any match practice.
While some of the other ODI specialists are playing Ranji Trophy for their states, Dhoni is yet to represent Jharkhand this season. With BCCI's rule that keeps Indian players from competing in the other private leagues, the Indian captain will not be able to play in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
"We have no information as to whether Dhoni will be playing any Ranji Trophy game or not. In any case he has already retired from the longer format. The information we have is that he is doing his regular training with the Jharkhand team," cheif selector MSK Prasad told PTI.
Jharkhand State Cricket Association Secretary, Rajesh Verma, also said that Dhoni will play the role of a 'mentor' to the senior state team.
"Dhoni does not play Test cricket anymore so the question of playing first-class cricket does not arise at all. He is a mentor of the Jharkhand team. He will play for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy," Verma said.
Dhoni was with the Jharkhand team in Delhi when they played against Maharashtra earlier this month, but only opted to take part in a few training sessions.
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