Team India will play the T20 World Cup 2021 in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, making this year’s edition the first without the much adored former Indian captain.

T20 World Cup 2021 will also be the first edition of the tournament in which India will play with a different captain, since Dhoni led the team in all T20 world cups.

Dhoni was announced as the captain of the Indian cricket team for the 2007 edition, the first ever T20 World Cup, which India ended up winning after a dramatic finish against Pakistan in the final.

The 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup will be played in Dhoni’s absence since he announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2020 with an Instagram post.

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Dhoni, who will return for Chennai Super Kings in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, has had a significant impact on the game with his immeasurable strength. 

The legendary captain has career stats boasting 1617 runs in 98 T20 matches with an average of 37.6 and a strike rate of 126.13.

His last T20I appearance was against Australia at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru where he scored 40 runs off 23 balls. 

This year, the Indian cricket team will be led by Virat Kohli whose men are ranked second with a rating of 266 on the international table after England’s 278.

The official squad announcement for the 2021 World Cup is expected to be made on Wednesday.

Cricket fans have been speculating possible inclusions and exclusions with many sharing their predictions on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

According to various media reports, The Chetan Sharma-led selection panel is expected to meet at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai and link up with coach Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli to finalise the squad.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has allowed a squad strength of 30, increasing it from 23 in earlier editions. The BCCI is expected to announce a 18 to 20-member squad.