New Delhi, India

Team India's squad for the T20 World Cup was announced on Wednesday (September 8). The BCCI Secretary Jay Shah announced a 15-man squad for the marquee event, which will be held in the UAE shortly after IPL 2021's second and final leg. 

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India's squad comprises a good mix of youth and experienced campaigners but the biggest surprise came in the form of MS Dhoni's inclusion. The former Indian captain, who announced his international retirement on August 15, 2020, has been roped in as the team mentor for the showpiece event as Virat Kohli & Co. will look to bank upon his vast experience, calm and composed nature, tactical acumen to end India's 8-year-long ICC title drought.

India have so far won the T20 World Cup only once, under Dhoni's leadership in 2007 whereas their last ICC trophy also came under the former skipper. Hence, his presence will be highly beneficial to Kohli-led brigade. Following the appointment of Dhoni in a new role, WION News' Aditya Sahay had an exclusive interaction with Bengal's veteran and Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary with regards to India's T20 WC squad, Dhoni and R Ashwin's surprise inclusion and more.

Will MS Dhoni's midas touch help India break the ICC title drought? 

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See, it is a huge boost for Team India. Having MS Dhoni around with the players which he has led over the period of time and even the youngsters....he has played with them in the IPL over a period of time. His experience will only help Kohli and the lower-order batters, who will have the responsibility to finish games. However, we got to realise that he's not going to be on field and play. His inputs will majorly help Kohli as a captain and the lower-order batters, but the performances will be solely dependent on the players.

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It is upto Virat and the lower-order batters to get the best out of him. They can know what he was thinking in those periods when he was under pressure and got the decisions right as captain and batsman. It is, thus, entirely upto them on how to maximise his presence to the best of their abilities. 

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When Dhoni was fading away, not many grabbed the opportunity of becoming a finisher, except Hardik Pandya. Hence, let's see how he can help the rest, especially in the knockouts. We have seen in recent past how India have struggled in semi-finals and finals. That is where his experience will help them the most, psychologically. 

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'R Ashwin has been branded as a Test specialist which isn't right'

On Ashwin's inclusion: I think we all have branded Ashwin as a Test specialist. We shouldn't have done that. I can understand why he was getting picked. If you see the players who had replaced him, they were slightly better in other two departments, i.e. batting and fielding. He remains far better than all the other off-spinners in the country. But if you look at the others who replaced him, they were better in fielding and batting capacity. Overall, I think it is a great replacement.

Ashwin's record in T20 World Cup is exceptional (with 20 wickets in 15 innings in T20 WCs). Although he hasn't played limited-overs since 2017, he will still have the hunger and eagerness to prove that he belongs in this format. He has all the variations in his armoury to perform successfully and consistently. I have full faith on him to shine bright whenever given a chance in the World Cup.

For the unversed, India will commence their campaign in the T20 WC on October 24, versus Pakistan. They are in Group 2, with the Men in Green, New Zealand, Afghanistan along with two other teams who will join from the qualifiers.