MS Dhoni could play 2023 World Cup, says this former England bowler

Bengaluru: Former England spinner Monty Panesar has spoken about MS Dhoni’s future and he feels the star Indian wicketkeeper-batsman could be playing the 2023 World Cup. Panesar made these comments during an interview with timesnownews.com on Friday (May 29). Read on to find out what exactly he said about former skipper Dhoni.

The 38-year-old Panesar urged Dhoni to keep on playing till the 2023 World Cup.

Panesar, who played 50 Tests, 26 ODIs and one T20I, feels if Dhoni retires it will impact the cricket world.

According to Panesar, things could change quickly in cricket.

“If I was Dhoni, I would not retire, just play in the IPL for the next four years and think I can play in next the World Cup if I keep playing domestic cricket. He could even play in the 2023 World Cup. He could be playing in the 2023 World Cup because in sports, things change very quickly,” Panesar told timesnownews.com.

“He has to take a call – if he is to retire, what will be the impact on the cricket world? People would then tune into IPL to watch Dhoni play because they cannot see him anywhere else. That would be a big attraction in the IPL. IPL cannot afford to lose Dhoni,” Panesar added.

Dhoni has not played for India since the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final in England last July.

In that World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand, Dhoni was run out and with that India's hopes of a win faded away.

With India under a lockdown due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Dhoni is spending time with his family in Ranchi.

Fans are eagerly waiting for IPL 2020 to be hosted so that they can watch Dhoni in action.

On social media, someone started trending #DhoniRetires. The rumour over Dhoni's retirement was quashed by his wife Sakshi. She slammed the people who tweeted about this fake news and called them "mentally unstable".