Why Dhoni could lead India without matchpractice

NEW DELHI: India’s limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is likely to play his first international match in two and half months with apparently no official game time in sight.

India’s first ODI against England is scheduled on January 15 in Pune. It is expected to be Dhoni’s first international match in two and half months after having last played against New Zealand at Visakhapatnam on October 29.

While there is a protocol for injured players to play at least one first-class game before being considered for national selection, the same is not applicable for Dhoni, who has announced his retirement from longer format.

MS Dhoni prepared for the limited overs tour of Australia in 2015 by playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Jharkhand.

However, this edition of Hazare Trophy will only commence from February 25 -- nearly four weeks after the England ODI series has ended.

While some of the other ODI specialists are playing Ranji Trophy for their states, Dhoni is yet to avail that option and play for Jharkhand.

Dhoni prepared for the limited overs tour of Australia in 2015 by playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Jharkhand.

However, this edition of Hazare Trophy will only commence from February 25 -- nearly four weeks after the England ODI series has ended.

While some of the other ODI specialists are playing Ranji Trophy for their states, Dhoni is yet to avail that option.

With BCCI’s embargo on players from competing in the other private leagues, it was not possible for the Indian captain to play a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match. The Jharkhand team has qualified for the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy but till date Dhoni has not given any indication that he would like to play as pure batsman with Ishan Kishan keeping wickets. We have no information as to whether Dhoni will be playing any Ranji Trophy game or not.