Dhoni Likely To Lead in T20 WC

The national selectors face a big decision when they meet next week in Mumbai.

The man they name as captain of the Twenty20 World Cup squad will be widely seen as the long term replacement for Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have already won that race.

Dhoni’s innings at the home of cricket not only saved India from certain defeat but seems to have made up the selectors mind about his future role as captain of India at the Twenty20 World Cup.

The wise men were a bit apprehensive about giving Dhoni the job after an inconsistent run in the first half of the year.

But his composure and calmness in his effort at Lord’s has pushed all that into the background and even former national selectors believe, a tournament like the Twenty20 World Cup will be the ideal testing ground to test his leadership potential.

“Dhoni is a future captain and I think you should give more time to him so that he can understand what actually international cricket is,” said Yashpal Sharma, former national selector.

With the original heir apparent Virender Sehwag falling dramatically out of favour, the need to groom a leader among the new generation has become paramount and sources tell that the only other serious contender for the job, Yuvraj Singh is yet to convince the selectors of his leadership potentials.

And with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid pulling out of the tournament, the selectors have been left with little option but to go for Dhoni, although not all are convinced he is ready just yet.

“Definitely, I think he (Dhoni) has it, Yuvraj has it, Sehwag is not there but he has it, and so does Dinesh Karthik, whose doing so well. So, we have got quite a good pool of guys but then they have to prove themselves.

They have to be consistent,” said Kirti Azad, another former national selector.

One thing that tilts things in favour of Dhoni is his acceptability.

He may have joined the team much later than his contemporaries but has taken rapid strides, thanks to his attitude.

Leadership in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup will be a big chance to take a big leap forward.