The planet earth is in a situation of crisis right now. The Covid-19 pandemic has reached almost every nation and brought the world to a standstill. Nearly every sporting event has been either postponed or canceled. The Olympics, the biggest sporting event, has also been postponed to next year which was supposed to take place in Japan.
India’s premier event – Indian Premier League has also suffered due to the global emergency. It was scheduled to begin on March 29. Later, the tournament was postponed to begin on April 15. Then, a lockdown of 21 days was announced in the country which made it impossible for it to have any games in the month of April.
Given the fast spread of the virus not just in India but all over the world, the chances of IPL taking place soon look bleak. There were a few reports making rounds about BCCI looking to organize it in the July-September window. But even that looks difficult unless the spread stops or a cure arrives.
IPL was to be the practice ground for T20 World Cup
This year, the importance of the league was huge because the T20 World Cup is also scheduled to be held later this year in Australia. It would have been a great opportunity for team India as well as other teams to build the team for the World Cup. Not having IPL would be a big setback for many involved parties.
The Indian fans had their fair share of interest this year in the league. It was majorly due to MS Dhoni. The Indian maestro has been away from competitive cricket since India’s exit in the semi-final of the World Cup last year. Many believed that Dhoni would retire after that tournament. But the former Indian captain didn’t announce any such thing.
However, he made himself unavailable for selection for all the series that took place after the World Cup. There were speculations that he is eyeing one last stint in the national team for the T20 World Cup. Ravi Shastri, the coach of the Indian cricket team, had mentioned that Dhoni’s form in the IPL would decide his fate for his selection.
MS Dhoni had the perfect build-up for IPL
When the preparations for the IPL began, several videos appeared of him sweating it out in the camp of Chennai Super Kings. The fans were thrilled to see him tonking the ball in the nets. He even scored a century in one of the practice games. Things were looking good and MS Dhoni was becoming the poster boy of IPL 13.
But Covid-19, which started from Wuhan, China, had an impact on the world at the wrong time. With no IPL, the big question has arisen – Will we see MS Dhoni representing India again? That’s the question and more of a concern in every Dhoni fan’s mind. It’s difficult for anyone to answer that right now.
The situation is unclear now as to how long the pandemic is going to last and what the fate of the league would be. With the widespread of the virus, there are dark clouds hovering even over the World Cup. If the situation doesn’t get better, the tournament might also get postponed. But nothing can be said with certainty as of now.
Also, it’s impossible to figure out what’s going inside Dhoni’s head. No one has ever been able to crack that. Whether he is still dreaming of an Indian comeback or not, only the great man knows. It’s a well-known fact that he is not one of those who would want to glamourize his retirement.
Is it the end of the road?
In 2015, when he quit the captaincy of the Test side and decided to hang up his boots, it was done in an as silent manner as possible. Midway through the Test series in Australia, he opted to quit and passed on the baton to Virat Kohli.
A worrying fact for the Dhoni fans is that the former Indian captain will turn 39 in July. Although Fitness has never been an issue with him, yet age has certainly played its part in his stroke-making. The clock is ticking and time is running out for the most successful Indian captain.
Dhoni hasn’t played in any domestic tournament for more than 8 months now. IPL was the only tournament he was aiming for. But with the current situation, a piece of good news doesn’t seem to be coming soon. A few experts believe that the wicketkeeper might walk away from the game silently. It’s gutting to say that we might have seen the last of MS Dhoni in the Indian colors.
