Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have played the T20 World Cup in 2021, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed former Indian selector Sarandeep Singh in an interview with Sportkeeda. Fitness determines how long a player would last and Dhoni was the fittest, Singh said.

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“Definitely, he would have played (if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t halted the tournament). We were also thinking that he should have definitely played the World T20,” Singh told Sportkeeda.

“He was fit. There was no reason for him to not play. We always see the fitness of the players first to see how long they can play. And Mahi was the fittest,” he said.

Speaking about Dhoni’s fitness, the former selector said that that the former Indian skipper never took a break from practice, “even from optional practice.”

“Mahi was there. And you see it never happened that he missed a game because of injury. That’s why he got so much respect from everyone.” Singh added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) in July last year had announced that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which was to be hosted by Australia, was postponed till November 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, last year. He’ll be next seen in the Indian Premier League (IPL), 2021.