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Guwahati: After hearing of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to call time on his career, 'Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar has opined that Dhoni still has the ability to continue playing the T-20 format for India.
"I think he could have played T20 cricket, he could have gone on to play the T20 World Cup. And the way India supports its stars, the way they love them and recognizes them, they would have played him in T20s," Akhtar said in an interaction with the popular YouTube channel 'BolWasim'.
Citing the example of Imran Khan (Imran Khan was asked by General Zia-ul-Haq not to leave cricket after 1987, and he played), the speed merchant from Rawalpindi has opined that Dhoni could still play next year's T20 World Cup if the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks him to.
"You never know, the Prime Minister may call him and request him to play the T20 World Cup. You cannot say no to the Prime Minister," Akhtar said.
Former India skipper MS Dhoni bid farewell to international cricket with an emotional video on Instagram on August 15, the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day.
Akhtar, after his retirement, remains involved in cricket by giving his opinions on the burning issues of the day via social media platforms. After hearing Dhoni's decision to call time on his career, Akhtar opined that Dhoni still had the ability to continue playing the 20-over format for India.
Dhoni remains the only captain to have won all three ICC trophies – T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, and Champions Trophy.
Meanwhile, there has been a rising demand from Dhoni fans to conduct a proper farewell for the 39-year-old so that they can say goodbye to him in a proper manner. Akhtar, echoing these sentiments, said that India will be geared up to give him a farewell game, trust me. The whole stadium will be booked for Dhoni to play a couple of T20 matches and then go after that, Akhtar expressed.