News of the year: Fans elated as MS Dhoni joins Team India as mentor

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the Team India squad to take part in the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman between October 17 to November 14 2021.

While Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion came as a surprise for many, the announcement of former World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni joining as mentor left many in jubilation. Many experts and former cricketers weighed in on the squad and also opined about Dhoni’s involvement with the Virat Kohli-led team.

Also read: Team India announces squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, check list here

In a tweet, BCCI said, “Former India Captain @msdhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup” – Honorary Secretary @JayShah.”

Meanwhile, former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer added a touch of humour while revealing his surprise at Dhoni’s addition.

Cricketer Dinesh Karthik wrote, “That is one HELL of a team . Well done selectors. M S DHONI – that’s a master stroke too. Congrats to everyone but more so to @ashwinravi99 and @chakaravarthy29 from my neck of the woods. Well done boys.”

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha also congratulated the team and wrote, “Two big boosts from the announcement of the team for the T20 World Cup! #Ashwin & #MSD as mentor! Brilliant @BCCI @JayShah @SGanguly99.”

India will open its T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai.

Also read: MS Dhoni to mentor India T20 World Cup squad

India Squad: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.

Standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.