He is a tactical expert: Ex-Pakistan captain explains why Team India should rope in MS Dhoni as mentor

MS Dhoni is reportedly set to be offered another major role in Team India's backroom staff by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup in 2024. The former India captain had earlier served as the mentor of the Indian team during the T20 World Cup last year.

The most successful captain in the history of Indian cricket, Dhoni had a trophy-laden stint as a player. He led India to numerous memorable victories as captain both at home and overseas and remains the only skipper to have won all three major ICC limited-overs trophies - T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, and the Champions Trophy.

Dhoni, who last played for India in 2019, announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020. However, he continues to represent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is expected to bring curtain downs on his IPL career after the 2023 season next year.

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As per reports, Dhoni will be involved with the Indian cricket team once again in some sort of a role after retiring from IPL next year. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt shared his views on Dhoni's potential return to the Indian setup after the reports emerged recently.

Butt believes Indian cricket can benefit from having Dhoni in the coaching setup as he is someone with a lot of experience behind his back and is a proven winner as a leader. Butt also lauded Dhoni's tactical acumen and urged BCCI to use his brain in taking Indian cricket forward.

"Indian cricket will benefit significantly from MS Dhoni's involvement and presence. Because of the type of captain he has been, he would be a big asset when it comes to designing tactical plans for the team," Butt said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

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"He is a tactical expert with an excellent temperament. He is an asset to them, and they should indeed create a capacity for him to contribute," Butt said.

"With his kind of a brain, players will be benefitted. Indian cricket will move ahead. You can't beat experience, you can't beat the person who has done things himself," he added.

Dhoni, who gave up CSK's captaincy last season, had to return as the skipper of the side midway through IPL 2022 after Ravindra Jadeja's performances dipped due to the pressure of leading the team. However, Dhoni is expected to lead the side from the start of IPL 2023 and would hope to sign off from the IPL on a high by inspiring CSK to another title.