BCCI makes MS Dhoni mentor of India's T20 WC squad
R Ashwin in 15-member squad for T20 World Cup
New Delhi, Sep 8: Iconic former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Wednesday brought in as mentor of India's 15-member T20 World Cup squad by the BCCI, a move that took everyone by surprise.
The 40-year-old Dhoni retired from international cricket last year, his last India game being the 2019 World Cup semi-final, which the team lost to New Zealand.
"Former India captain M S Dhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup," announced BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a press conference to unveil the squad for the T20 World Cup scheduled to start October 17 in the UAE and Oman.
"(I) spoke to him in Dubai. He agreed to be mentor for World T20 only and I discussed with my colleagues and all are on same page. I spoke to captain (Virat Kohli) and vice captain (Rohit Sharma) and everyone agreed," he added.
It is believed that Dhoni has been brought in for his experience in devising near-perfect white ball strategies and for knowing what it takes to win crucial ICC tournaments, where trophies have remained elusive for his successor.
One of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket, the enigmatic wicketkeeper-batsman led India to two world titles -- the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 ODI World Cup in India.
Dhoni is currently with his IPL team Chennai Super Kings, gearing up for the resumption of the league from September 19 in the UAE.
The reticent player's retirement, announced by him through an instagram post on August 15 last year, had taken the cricket world by surprise and he has not spoken even once about it after that.
The highly-respected wicketkeeper-batsman played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20 Internationals amassing 4876, 10773 and 1617 runs respectively across formats.
He has largely kept a low profile after retiring internationally, focussing on his IPL engagements and organic farming at his home town Ranchi.
Ashwin's inclusion -- the left-field selection
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During the past four Tests against England, despite India's steady performance, the 34-year-old Ashwin's exclusion did stick out like a sore thumb with Kohli unable to give any logical explanation.
It has been reliably learnt that it's primarily the skipper and not the coaching staff who is against fielding Ashwin in the playing XI during the current series.
In this scenario and for a captain, who has not had any faith in the senior spinner's white-ball capabilities for the past four years, it would have been really surprising that the he would have wanted the straight-talking Tamil Nadu tweaker in his limited overs set-up.
"Ashwin is an asset. He performed well in the IPL and we needed a player of his experience. We need an off-spinner with Washington (Sundar) injured. Ashwin is the only specialist off-spinner in the squad," chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma answered a PTI query during the press meet.
Now this is an open secret in Indian cricket that former pacer Chetan hasn't been on the same page with Kohli since the time he has taken over. Their difference of opinion on the selection of Abhimanyu Easwaran in the Test squad for England made headlines not too long back.
However, Chetan is believed to have had support from BCCI brass as well as at least one influential senior player, who is convinced that Ashwin's inclusion was a must taking the Dubai ground into consideration.
"Dubai ground is huge and Ashwin is one bowler, who has variations to trouble a lot of teams in the Powerplay overs. The skipper might not have been convinced for so many years, there are other key players also who are definitely convinced that Ashwin was needed.
"It was a collective decision and skipper had to fall in line," a senior BCCI source privy to immediate developments told PTI.
Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy reap IPL dividends
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Yuzvendra Chahal came into the scene permanently after India's horrible Champions Trophy final against Pakistan after which wrist spinners were in vogue but after four years, life has come full circle for him with his slow through the air approach becoming his undoing.
"We have picked Rahul Chahar over Yuzi as we wanted someone who bowls fast and gets pace off the pitch. He also gets the ball to grip through the surface," Chetan said when asked about junior Chahar's inclusion.
The chairman said that any positive suggestions are welcome when asked if inputs from Rahul Dravid, who was India's coach in Sri Lanka in July, have been taken for selection of Chahar, who was very impressive in all the games.
On Varun Chakravarthy, a pure product of IPL, Chetan said that he is still a surprise element for most teams across the world.
"He is the mystery bowler and teams are not able to read him. He has bowled well in IPL and he will be a surprise package," he explained.
No Dhawan or Prithvi even in 18
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Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan, Delhi Capitals' crack openers, are set to miss out on this edition and it was on the cards since KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are a settled opening pair.
Even skipper Kohli has opened in IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore but Chetan clarified that they are not looking at the skipper as an opener.
"For us, there are three openers -- KL, Rohit and Ishan Kshan. Ishan also gives us the option of playing him in the middle-order as a floater and is also the second wicket-keeper. So we have kept things flexible," he said.
With Suryakumar Yadav's smashing entry into the international scene and Shreyas Iyer's untimely injury, it was always a case of touch and go between the two Mumbaikars.
"Shreyas hasn't played any cricket but we have kept him in the stand-bys."
Shardul will remain in stand by as Hardik set to bowl full quota of overs
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The chairman said that Hardik Pandya has informed that he will bowl his "full quota of overs" and that effectively meant that Shadul Thakur, after his heroics in red ball cricket, will have to be content being in reserves.
Similarly Deepak Chahar, despite his lion-hearted show in Sri Lanka, is in the reserves because Bhuvneshwar Kumar is way more experienced and the inclusion of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah meant that there could only be place for either of the two.
In all it's a team that's not just has Kohli's stamp over it but also has some influence from Rohit Sharma, and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on it. And when the ball starts rolling, there would be a man with serene smile, who would still be the undeclared captain.
An interesting World T20 is on cards which will also decide Kohli's future as white ball leader irrespective of probable Test series win against England.
Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice captain), 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, Mohammed Shami.
Standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
