Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been away from cricket for over a year now. MS Dhoni’s last game for India was the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand last year. The India wicketkeeper-batsman will return to cricket when the Indian Premier League kicks off in September. Dhoni will return as the captain of Chennai Super Kings as he looks to win his fourth IPL trophy.

But here is the big question – will Dhoni’s performance in the IPL led to selectors putting him in contention for the T20 World Cup next year in India? Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Dhoni might not be interested in making an international return again at the age of 40, but he added that India can manage without him in the 2021 World Cup.

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“I think we can manage without him, let’s be honest. Because we are talking about 2021,” Chopra said in a video uploaded on his Youtube page. “It is in India and you definitely want Dhoni to be there in the team and want him to play.”

“But first thing, does Dhoni want to play? I have been saying this like a broken record that I feel he doesn’t want to play,” Chopra added.

“But even if he is available, we are talking about 2021. It is still more than a year to go when that World Cup will happen in India. So, we have to get used to manage without him and I think will get used to it by then,” he further said.

“So I feel his presence is not so important that if he is not there you will not win the World Cup,” Chopra concluded.

The 13th edition of IPL will be played between September 19th and November 10th in the UAE. The matches will take place across three cities – Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.