'Kohli, Shastri were controlling Indian cricket. MSD was called to keep balance'
A former India fast bowler has made a bold statement, claiming that MS Dhoni was roped in as mentor for T20 World Cup to ensure that Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri did not have their way with the team.
The entire country erupted in joy when MS Dhoni was named mentor of the Indian cricket team for the T20 World Cup, but the euphoria of it did not last long as India crashed out of the ICC tournament before making it to the semi-finals. The T20 World Cup was the last tournament for the captain coach duo of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri.
Shastri's tenure was up as he was set to step down as India's head coach, while Kohli had already announced that he would no longer continue as captain of the T20I side post the Word Cup.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah revealed the reason behind appointing Dhoni as team's mentor, saying that with an impeccable record in ICC tournaments, MSD's wisdom and his wealth of knowledge would promise to prove beneficial for Indian cricket.
However, former India pacer Atul Wassan has made a bold statement, claiming that Dhoni was roped in to ensure that Kohli and Shastri did not have their way with the team.
"I'll tell you. Dhoni was brought in just to keep some balance because everybody had a feeling that Virat and Ravi Shastri were totally handling, selecting, managing whoever they wanted to play," Wassan told CNN-News18 during a panel discussion.
"They were controlling Indian cricket. So, they (BCCI) thought somebody should come in with some kind of value who would just monitor that there is a balance. I think they messed up greatly in the World Cup."
Wassan addressed the whole Kohli captaincy saga, underlining that the BCCI and selectors did not do anything wrong in naming Rohit Sharma as the new ODI captain. "Here in India, once you have played a lot of cricket and you become a demi-god, the player expects to get some lineage, get some special treatment. This system needs to change," added Wassan.
"If you are not gelling well with the organisation and you have got a better option, players also have to stop feeling low or let down. Don't expect too much from the board because once you have a tap on the shoulder, you have got to take it as a man."
