Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has brought several accolades for Team India, may enter politics after retiring from cricket, a senior BJP leader has said.
Speaking to news agency IANS, former Union minister and BJP leader Sanjay Paswan said that MS Dhoni might even consider starting new innings in politics as part of ‘Team Narendra Modi’.
Paswan also said that Dhoni can join BJP and there has been a discussion on the issue for long.
“On this issue, there has been a discussion for long, although this decision will be taken only after his retirement,” he added.
On his kinship with the world-renowned wicket-keeper batsman, Paswan said that he has known him for a long time and he remains hopeful that he will join the saffron party after calling it quits from cricket.
“Dhoni is my friend, he is a player of world fame and there have been discussions on bringing him into the party fold,” the BJP leader said.
The comments from senior BJP leader comes after skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to send Dhoni to bat at no. 7 during the ICC men’s World Cup semi-final clash against New Zealand, which India lost the match by 18 runs.
After India were knocked out of the ICC World Cup tournament, there were widespread speculations about MS Dhoni’s likely retirement from cricket, with many suggesting him to continue playing for India.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh, former Pakistani pacer Shoiab Akhtar several other cricketers have backed MS Dhoni’s approach in the semi-final match against New Zealand at Old Trafford.
They even added that ”without Dhoni, there would not be a chance to win a game.”
“I think it is pretty unfair. MS Dhoni has won so many games to India and he has played in the same way over the long period of time. He can get you in a situation that can give you a chance to win the game and without him, there would not be a chance to win a game,” Waugh said.
It may also be recalled that MS Dhoni was one of the celebrities whom the saffron party chief Amit Shah visited during his “Sampark for Samarthan” campaign before the 2019 general elections.
It has been learnt that the elections in MS Dhoni’s home state Jharkhand are scheduled to be held later this year. It is also believed that MS Dhoni may even be the chief ministerial face of the BJP in the upcoming Jharkhand polls