RANCHI: Speculation over his retirement has been rife ever since India lost the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in July. MS Dhoni’s silence has added fuel to the fire. Unperturbed with the noise over that, the former skipper has quietly started training at the gym in JSCA International Stadium. He spent close to an hour on Wednesday. Sources also confirmed that he might train with the Jharkhand U-23 team, which is having a camp for the national one-day tournament starting on October 31.
“He spoke to a support staff of the senior Jharkhand team but as they would be leaving for Surat to participate in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20s starting on November 8, he is likely to practise with under-23 boys at the stadium,” said a source close to developments. The camp is organised for a week before the team leaves for Jaipur, where they start against Kerala on November 1.
“He has started working on his fitness by training at the gym. He also plays badminton, tennis and billiards at the venue. They all are part of his preparations. He might start playing competitive cricket from January which means he will not be a part of the Jharkhand team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy,” added the source.
Sources close to him suggest that Dhoni might not only skip the three T20Is scheduled against Bangladesh next month, but also the limited-over series against West Indies in December. The Caribbean team will play three T20Is and as many one-dayers.Sri Lanka will visit India in January to play three T20Is before Australia make a short tour of the country in the same month for three ODIs. India will then fly to New Zealand for a long tour comprising T20Is, ODIs and Tests.
The five T20Is will be played on January 24, 26, 29, 31 and February 2, while the three ODIs will be held on February 5, 8 and 11. The three-match Test series, which will be part of the ICC World Test Championship, will begin on February 5. The three ODIs will be played on March 12, 15 and 18.
Dhoni may join the India team for the Sri Lanka T20Is. In case he skips that series, he can then be expected to play five T20Is against New Zealand. “He is preparing himself for the World T20 scheduled in Australia from October 18 to November 15. He might prefer the shortest format in days to come and will definitely play for Chennai Super Kings in IPL next year,” said sources.