'Glad MS Dhoni agreed to mentor India during T20 World Cup': BCCI Secretary Jay Shah

The 18-member Indian Team for T20 World Cup was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday which raised a lot of eyebrows. Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal did not find a place in the team while the inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin in the team after four years was a surprising one.  However the biggest talking point of the news of the return of MS Dhoni to the Indian side but as a mentor for the tournament. The former captain had led India to glory in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007,

Jay Shah on MS Dhoni mentor role in Indian Team for T20 World Cup

BCCI secretary Jay Shah said he spoke to the former captain in Dubai about the role of the mentor for T20 World Cup. Shah said Dhoni readily agreed to the offer and that he was committed to serving the team, this time as a member of the support staff. In a video posted on Twitter by BCCI Jay Shah said, "I am glad that MS has accepted this offer and he is keen to contribute to our national team once again. MS Dhoni will work closely with Ravi Shastri as well as the other support staff to provide support to Team India,"

Indian Team for T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami

T20 World Cup schedule 

The seventh edition of the T20 World Cup will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on 17 October, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, clashing in the evening match on the same day.  

Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Namibia - making up Group A - will be in action in Abu Dhabi the next day, with Round 1 matches running till 22 October. The top two teams in each group will proceed to the Super 12 stage of the tournament, beginning on 23 October. 

The second round of the tournament – the Super 12 stage – will get underway in Abu Dhabi on 23 October, with the Group 1 contest between Australia and South Africa. This will be followed up with an evening clash between England and West Indies in Dubai. Old rivals England and Australia will lock horns in Dubai on 30 October. The group will conclude on 6 November with matches between Australia and West Indies in Abu Dhabi, and England and South Africa in Sharjah.

The first semi-final will be held in Abu Dhabi on 10 November at 6 pm local time. The second semi-final will be hosted by Dubai on 11 November. Both semi-finals have reserve days. The final of the tournament will take place in Dubai on 14 November, Sunday, with Monday acting as the reserve day for the final.