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India's 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup was finally announced on Wednesday (September 8). The Men in Blue, under the leadership of Virat Kohli, will kick off the campaign by taking on arch-rivals Pakistan. However, the biggest surprise from the announcement was the inclusion of MS Dhoni as the team's mentor.

ALSO READ: Throwback: Did you know? MS Dhoni was dropped from Team India's T20I squad in 2018

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, often regarded as India's best-ever limited-overs captain, is back and how. The 40-year-old guided the Men in Blue to a win in the inaugural 2007 ICC T20 World Cup, 2011 ICC World Cup, and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. 

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MS Dhoni retired from international cricket in the year 2020. Fans went into a frenzy when the legendary cricketer was named as a mentor for Team India for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. 

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Who is a mentor? 

A mentor is a person who is appointed to assist players with his experience and expertise in the game of cricket. He helps players in the tactics of the match that help them seal a win. 

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Why was MS Dhoni chosen for the job? 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also known as 'Captain Cool', is regarded as one of the best tacticians in the game. He was the only captain to ever win all the ICC trophies. MS Dhoni's expertise in the T20 format is known to all. From the 2007 T20 World Cup to his IPL exploits, MS Dhoni has proved his mettle in the format. 

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MS Dhoni is also well-knit with the current squad. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah were among the key players when Dhoni used to be the captain. 

His cordial relations with skipper Kohli and vice-captain Rohit could help them improve their team's tactics and will be looking to end the ICC trophy drought since 2013. 

A think-tank like MS Dhoni is always a useful addition to the squad and improves the team's chances to lift the coveted trophy after 14 years.

Squad

India's squad comprises the likes of R Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja as the spinners. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami will share the responsibility in the pace department. The one-time champions have gone ahead with two specialist wicketkeepers such as Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan, whereas KL Rahul can also keep wickets. Hardik, Jadeja, Axar, Ashwin, Bhuvi will also act as the all-rounders.

Talking about the specialist batters, Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav made the list whereas Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur are named in the reserves.