T20 World Cup: Ex-Selector reveals MS Dhoni promised World Cup win in 2007, will benefit Indian team in UAE – Former Indian selector Sanjay Jagdale revealed that MS Dhoni had promised to win the T20 World Cup in 2007 when he was first appointed captain, and his game reading skills will be an asset to the current team led by Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain was appointed as a team mentor for the T20 World Cup in the UAE after he called time on his career last season. India hasn’t lifted the title since their win in the inaugural 2007 edition, and Virat Kohli and Co. will hope that the addition of Dhoni to the support staff will serve as a catalyst and lead them to the trophy.
In an interview with News18, former national selector from Central Zone (Indore) Sanjay Jagdale who was part of the selection committee including Dilip Vengsarkar, Venkatapathy Raju, Ranjib Biswal and Bhupinder Singh that named Dhoni as captain for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in September 2007, believes Dhoni’s addition is an asset to the Indian side in the UAE.
Jagdale said, “He is cool and reads the game very well, the situations, the opposition and the conditions. Especially in Twenty20. I will never forget the 2007 World Cup in South Africa. I was in London as selector for the series against England. We picked a new team with Dhoni as captain. The first time he is named the captain, and he said: Sir, hum World Cup jeet ke ayenge (We will return with World Cup). I can never forget these words from him. He was not casual at all, he looked very confident about what he said. And India won the World Cup.”
T20 World Cup: Ex-Selector reveals MS Dhoni promised World Cup win in 2007, will benefit Indian team in UAE
The former Indian selector added that Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni share a great rapport, and while he doesn’t know the specifics of the former captain’s role as mentor, he believes it will be an advantage to the Men in Blue. Narrating another incident, Jagdale said, “This was before the World Cup in England. I was watching the match from a position that was behind long off and by the side of the sight screen. Marcus Stoinis was batting brilliantly and Virat was fielding at long-off, just in front of us. “
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He added, “And I could hear Dhoni shouting Chiku (Virat’s nickname) and asking him to shift 15 to 20 feet towards extra cover. This was a remarkable incident with Dhoni asking the India captain (Virat) to move. Virat had no issues with it. He just moved. This is the respect and rapport they have. Even before Dhoni became the captain, all players had a good equation with Dhoni. I even explained to my friends about what happened on the field and the respect the players have for Dhoni.”
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