Team India coach Gautam Gambhir questioned why legendary captain MS Dhoni should have been chosen as mentor before the 2021 T20 World Cup. Trying to overcome the ICC title drought, India, as one of the strongest countries in the world of cricket, appointed the former world cup winner as its captain before the great event.
MS Dhoni as captain led India to three ICC championships; the 2013 champions trophy, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2007 T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue have not won in an ICC event since 2013, although they won the league stages.
Regarding Dhoni’s selection as the team’s coach, Gambhir stated on Star Sports (via Times Now):
“I’m sure MS will share his experience. That probably is the only thing I can think of; apart from that, I don’t see MS Dhoni changing anything from a skill point of view. Ravi Shastri’s been there, Vikram Rathour has been there, and the entire support staff is there. So, probably MS can only add his experience to the players while probably going into the crunch games.”
He added:
“It’s not like India has struggled in T20 Cricket. Had India struggled in T20 cricket, they might have had to get someone from outside, but Dhoni’s experience and his mindset of handling pressure in those crunched games could be one reason why they’ve got him as a mentor – not purely from the skill point of view, because these guys have got all the skill, to go out there and deliver.”
According to recent reports, MS Dhoni may return to coach India’s team in preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The team won the event without suffering a single loss in the 2024 edition.
Team India’s 2021 T20 World Cup struggles highlight limited impact of Dhoni’s mentorship
MS Dhoni’s participation as Team Mentor had remarkably little impact on India’s performance on the field during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. Virat Kohli’s team was among the favorites going into the competition, but they lost to arch-rivals Pakistan by a startling 10 wickets in their first match.
Things got even worse when India put up another poor performance against New Zealand in a near must-win match. The 2007 winners gave up the runs to the Kiwis in just 14.3 overs after scoring just 110 in their 20 overs.
India won their following three matches against lower-ranked nations, but their ship had already sailed after losing the first two. After placing outside of their group’s top two, the Asian giants were ousted from the competition before to the knockout stages.
