MS Dhoni to work with Jharkand Team, As a Mentor

The Indian cricket team’s limited overs captain , Mahendra Singh Dhoni will soon be seen in an all new role as he will be mentoring his state team Jharkhand in the upcoming All India Buchi Babu Invitation Tournament which will kick off on August 5 at the so called second home of M.S. Dhoni, Chennai. This will be the first time when we will see Dhoni taking up a completely new role of a mentor as we have never heard him say if he is interested in this role or not. But by accepting this offer, Dhoni has moved a step ahead and surely we may see him turning into a full-time coach after his retirement from the limited overs of cricket.

“Dhoni will be mentoring Jharkhand in the tournament and is likely to arrive in Chennai on August 10. He will not be playing though,” K.S. Viswanathan, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary, said on Wednesday (August 3).

“Dhoni was with the boys during the camp in Ranchi,” Rajesh Verma, the secretary of Jharkhand State Cricket Association, told Wisden India. He further said “The boys are thrilled as it gives them a chance to tap into his experience. The original plan was for him to be there from the beginning [of the tournament], but he now has a meeting in Delhi. So, he will most probably join the team around August 12.”

This will be Dhoni’s first official assignment as a mentor, even though he is highly regarded by his teammates in the state, national and franchise sides as a great motivator and strategist.

Not only the Jharkhand team, but Dhoni too will benefit from this stint as he has been away from the game from past one month and through this, he will again be in touch with the game.The announcement on Tuesday that India will be playing two Twenty20 (T20) internationals against the West Indies in the United States at the end of August may have influenced Dhoni’s decision to take part in this annual pre-season affair, albeit as a mentor. The 35-year-old will look to get some valuable practice with the Jharkhand boys and get into the groove of things. Dhoni hasn’t played any competitive cricket since captaining an inexperienced Indian team for three One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals on the tour of Zimbabwe in June.

This year, apart from Jharkhand, the Buchi Babu tournament will feature Hyderabad, Chhattisgarh, Railways and Uttar Pradesh as invitational teams, alongside three local teams in TNCA President’s XI, TNCA XI and TNCA Districts XI. The tournament is set to run from August 5 to 18. With MS Dhoni’s presence the tournament will certainly garner some attention.