The annual contracts of BCCI players are intended for those who are available to play for India. Since World Cup 2019 Dhoni hasn’t played any competitive cricket. During the past one year, he was a Grade A player.
There have been humming even within the BCCI about how a contracted player could make himself unavailable unless he was injured. Dhoni took a niggle back to the World Cup that escalated during the tournament.
During the World Cup he also sustained a wrist injury. Nonetheless, a contract player will sign in for recovery and rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy. On the opposite, for a two-week period in Kashmir, Dhoni was the honorary Lieutenant Colonel who had been in Kashmir for the Paraguayan Indian Army.
A player who is not currently active could not obtain a central contract from the BCCI. At the same time, in T20 at least the contracts does not mark Dhoni as a cricketer.
The IPL will suit–and Dhoni is a totally different proposition for the Chennai Super Kings. When he flips the years back, he’ll be in great fight for the T20 World Cup. If he’s 38. He has also provided less subtle clues, even from the Indian team’s lead coach, Ravi Shastri.
