Ms Dhoni

Dhoni is a veteran of 448 internationals across the limited overs formats, and captained India to glory at the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup - the latter an unforgettable triumph on home soil.

The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has not featured for India since their semi-final loss to New Zealand at last year's World Cup and he is currently on a break from the game.

Rishabh Pant has taken the gloves for India in white-ball cricket but the Dhoni era might not be over just yet.

"I have had a conversation with MS and that is between us," Shastri told News18. "He has finished his Test career, he may soon end his ODI career. So he will be left with T20, he will definitely play the IPL.

"One thing I know about Dhoni is that he will not impose himself on the team. But if he has a cracking IPL, well, then... 

"We will have to consider the person’s experience and form. They will bat in the number five or six position. If Dhoni plays well in IPL, then he does put himself in contention."

A return to Dhoni could be welcoming in some quarters, given criticism that has been levelled at Pant's glovework and his failure to convert starts into decisive contributions with the bat.

Pant averages 20.50 from 25 T20I innings, but Shastri is backing the youngster.

"How many 22-year-old wicket-keepers have made 100s? He hasn’t dropped many catches and everyone is entitled to make mistakes," he added.

"As he matures he will get better. These things don't happen overnight. There is no question that he is a match-winner.

"Talent is there, he is doing everything to cash in. He is working hard on his wicketkeeping."

The Super Kings had managed just one win in their previous six games but belied that poor run of form with a fine all-round performance in Dubai. 

Bangalore had the chance to go top of the table but a total of 145-6 was not enough, despite a defiant half-century from captain Virat Kohli and 39 from AB de Villiers.

Sam Curran claimed 3-19 while Mitchell Santner returned figures of 1-23 from his four overs, setting up the opportunity for Chennai's batsmen to deliver a much-needed result. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad led the way at the top of the order, finishing up unbeaten on 65 not out after sharing stands worth 46 and 67 with Faf du Plessis (25) and Ambati Rayudu (39) respectively. 

Skipper MS Dhoni made 19 not out as his side cruised to their target with eight balls to spare, a victory that moves them off the bottom of the standings. 

SAM THE MAN FOR A CHALLENGE 

In a difficult campaign, Curran has shone for the Super Kings. The England all-rounder has performed whatever role required efficiently and is now his franchise's leading wicket-taker in 2020. 

His left-arm seam accounted for a trio of big names, as he dismissed Aaron Finch early on before returning to take out international team-mate Moeen Ali and the key wicket of Kohli in the 19th over. 

CHENNAI OPEN TO CHANGE 

Gaikwad recorded his maiden half-century in the Twenty20 tournament, producing a fluent 51-ball innings that included three sixes. 

The right-hander, 23, completed the job in style, pulling a Chris Morris short ball over the boundary. It was a far cry from his previous knock too, having fallen for a duck against Mumbai Indians last time out. 

The showpiece for international cricket's shortest format has provided some spectacular moments since South Africa staged the first edition 15 years ago.

West Indies are the only team to have carried off the trophy twice, and their long-time ring master Chris Gayle is absent this time, having not featured since the Caribbean side bowed out of the T20 World Cup last year.

With Gayle all but retired from internationals, and with others shuffling away, new stars will emerge over the coming weeks, and some established figures will be chasing records.

Here, Stats Perform looks at the T20 World Cup's top performers, and the spectacular feats from tournaments gone by that the class of 2022 will have in their sights.

Batters bid to go big in post-Gayle era

Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene is the only batter to have topped 1,000 runs in the history of the T20 World Cup, reaching 1,016 from 31 innings, spanning 2007 to 2014. He went out on a sensational high, passing the 1,000-run barrier in the final as Sri Lanka won the 2014 title by beating India in Mirpur.

Windies great Gayle sits second on that list with 965 runs, and is the only batter to have made two centuries in T20 World Cups. Those were also the fastest two tons in T20 World Cup history (47 balls v England in 2016, 50 balls v South Africa in 2007).

There are a number of batters who could join Jayawardene in reaching 1,000 runs at the T20 World Cup, but principal among them are the India pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Rohit replaced Kohli as skipper at the end of last year, following India's failure to get past the Super 12 stage at the World Cup, and there could be a friendly rivalry emerging in the race for four figures.

Rohit enters the tournament for top-ranked India on 847 runs in past editions, while Kohli has 845. Strikingly, Rohit's runs have come from 30 innings at an average of 38.50, whereas Kohli has plundered his in just 19 innings, and the latter's average of 76.81 is by far and away the best among all batters with 500-plus runs in the competition.

It helps, of course, that Kohli has finished unbeaten in eight of those knocks. The next highest average among such players is former England batter Kevin Pietersen's 44.61 (580 runs from 15 innings, two unbeaten).

The highest score by any batter in a single innings at the T20 World Cup remains the 123 that Brendon McCullum, now England's Test head coach, plundered for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Pallekele at the 2012 tournament. That was McCullum's highest score across his entire T20I career.

David Warner is another who could make it to 1,000 runs, but the Australia opener will need a big tournament to make that happen. He goes in on 762 runs from 30 prior innings, Cricinfo statistics show.

Only one batter has reached 500 T20 World Cup runs without making a fifty, and that was former India captain MS Dhoni, who skippered the team to the 2007 title. His best score in 29 innings, from which he accumulated 529 runs, was a modest 45.

Pakistan's Babar Azam dazzled at the 2021 T20 World Cup, scoring a tournament-high 303 runs in six innings.

His four half-centuries matched the most by any player in an edition of the tournament, the ICC said, having been previously achieved in 2014 by Kohli and in 2007 by Matthew Hayden.

Shakib, Mendis and Campher set standards for bowling elite

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is something of a T20 World Cup superstar. As well as ranking eighth on the run-scoring list (698 from 31 innings), the all-rounder has taken more wickets than anyone, with 41 at an average of 17.29.

A haul of 11 at the 2021 tournament took him top of the list, and there is nobody threatening to get particularly close to the 35-year-old spinner.

Among players selected for this tournament, the player with the next highest wicket haul is India's Ravichandran Ashwin, with 26 from 18 matches.

When it comes to T20 cricket, unsurprisingly there have been precious few five-wicket hauls, given the bowlers each have just a four-over allocation.

Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis is the only bowler to have snagged six in an innings, taking princely figures of 6-8 against Zimbabwe in 2012, while eight others have taken five wickets in a match, headed by Rangana Herath's remarkable 5-3 against New Zealand at the 2014 tournament, when the Black Caps were skittled for 60.

That ranks as the fourth-lowest team score in a T20 World Cup, with Netherlands responsible for the two worst totals, both times folding against Sri Lanka when making 39 at Chattogram in 2014 and 44 in Sharjah last year.

The other side to post a sub-60 score were West Indies, routed for 55 by England in Dubai 12 months ago.

A hat-trick represents the holy grail for all bowlers, and there have been just four in T20 World Cups, with Brett Lee taking the first for Australia against Bangladesh at the inaugural 2007 tournament.

There were no more until the 2021 tournament, which incredibly featured three: Curtis Campher took four wickets in four balls for Ireland against Netherlands, before Wanindu Hasaranga (for Sri Lanka against South Africa) and Kagiso Rabada (for South Africa against England) both managed three in three.

The 19-year-old Garg top scored with an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls after the Sunrisers' top-order stars failed to fire.

Garg and 20-year-old Abhishek Sharma (31 from 24) put on 77 for the fifth wicket in seven overs to get David Warner's side up to 164-5, Deepak Chahar taking 2-31.

That proved to be enough for Sunrisers to secure back-to-back victories and move up to fourth, as bottom side CSK fell short on 157-5 - slumping to a third loss in a row for the first time since 2014.

Ravindra Jadeja (50 from 35) struck a first IPL half-century and MS Dhoni finished 47 not out, but the Super Kings remain on one victory in a poor start to the tournament.

They needed 28 off the last over to pull off an unlikely win and although Abdul Samad started with five wides and Sam Curran finished the match with a six, Chennai were unable to avoid another defeat.

Rashid Khan conceded just 12 runs from his four overs, but Sunrisers' win came at a cost as Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a thigh injury.

YOUNG GUNS STEP UP FOR SUNRISERS

Jonny Bairstow was cleaned up by an inswinger from Chahar without scoring in the first over and Sunrisers were 69-4 after 11 overs when Kane Williamson was run out.

With Warner (28) and Manish Pandey also back in the pavilion, it was left to Garg and Sharma to come to the rescue.

Garg hit a six and found the rope six times, while Sharma - who only turned 20 last month - also struck a maximum and another four boundaries as the young guns delivered for Sunrisers.

There was another memorable moment for man of the match Garg when his throw saw the back of the dangerous Faf du Plessis, run out for 22.

RASHID TURNS THE SCREW, CONCERN FOR KUMAR

Leg-spin sensation Rashid starred with 3-14 in a victory over Delhi Capitals last time out and he delivered again.

The Afghanistan tweaker did not add to his wicket tally for the tournament, but his 16 dot balls were the most in an innings in the 2020 edition of the tournament.

Only Sheldon Cottrell (47), Jasprit Bumrah (47) and Mohammad Shami (42) have bowled more deliveries without conceding a run in the opening four matches of the IPL than Rashid, who has racked up 41 dots.

The injury to Kumar in the penultimate over is a cause for concern for Warner's in-form side, though.

DHONI AND JADEJA MILESTONES NO CONSOLATION

Captain Dhoni and Jadeja reached milestones with the bat, but that would be no consolation for the experienced duo.

Dhoni moved to the 4,500-run mark in the IPL and Jadeja has 2,000 under his belt, yet their knocks were not enough to pick up much needed points.

Modern-day great Dhoni posted on Instagram on Saturday to say "consider me retired", along with a video montage of his India appearances over the years, though he did not specify whether his announcement refers to all cricket or just the international arena.

India legend Tendulkar, who scored 15,921 Test runs and a further 18,426 in ODI cricket, led the tributes to Dhoni, who captained his country to World Cup glory on home soil nine years ago.

"Your contribution to Indian cricket has been immense, @msdhoni," Tendulkar posted on Twitter.

"Winning the 2011 World Cup together has been the best moment of my life. Wishing you and your family all the very best for your 2nd innings."

Fellow India great Virender Sehwag highlighted Dhoni's coolness under pressure as crucial to his longevity at the top of international cricket.

"To have a player like him, Mission Impossible…Players will come and go but there won't be a calmer man like him," Sehwag wrote. 

"Dhoni with his connect (sic) with people having aspirations was like a family member to many cricket lovers."

Suresh Raina, 33, added his own tribute on Instagram, in a post in which he confirmed he too is stepping away from international cricket.

"It was nothing but lovely playing with you, @mahi7781. With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey. Thank you India," he wrote.

India batsman Shikhar Dhawan added simply: "Captain. Leader. Legend. Thanks Mahi bhai for everything you have done for the country!"

Ravichandran Ashwin said the memories of his triumphs alongside Dhoni will forever stay with him.

He wrote: "The legend retires in his own style as always, @msdhoni bhai you have given it all for the country. 

"The champions trophy triumph, 2011 World Cup and the glorious @ChennaiIPL triumphs will always be etched in my memory. Good luck for all your future endeavours. #MSDhoni."

Dhoni, an explosive batsman and quality wicketkeeper, also won the World Twenty20 in 2007 and helped his team ascend to the top of the Test rankings.

He last played for his country in the July 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand at Old Trafford.