Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday said that MS Dhoni is not charging for his role as mentor of the Indian cricket team at the T20 World Cup, starting October 17 in Oman and The UAE.

Jay Shah said that the BCCI is grateful for MS Dhoni as the former captain agreed to serve the team during the World Cup. The BCCI had roped in the services of the former India captain for only the T20 world Cup as the board secretary announced the unforeseen decision when the squad was announced last month.

“MS Dhoni is not charging any honorarium for his services as the mentor of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup,” Jay Shah said, as quoted by ANI. Shah added that he is grateful to Dhoni for the said gesture.

MS Dhoni, who led India to glory in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, retired from international cricket in August 2020. However, the 40-year-old has continued to play for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

Dhoni is in the UAE with CSK and will join the Indian team following the completion of IPL 2021. Dhoni has led CSK to their 9th IPL final as he helped the 3-time champions bounce back from the horrors of UAE in 2020.

Earlier, India Today reported that it was Jay Shah who had thought of making use of MS Dhoni’s experience as early as two months before the announcement was made. Shah had a virtual interaction with Dhoni, offering him the opportunity to work with the Indian team as a mentor in the UAE.

Dhoni agreed to the proposal after he received clarity about the role at the T20 World Cup.

Jay Shah then approached captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma who agreed to the proposal.

The BCCI secretary then spoke to India’s head coach Ravi Shastri, for whom the T20 World Cup will be the last assignment. Shah told the former India captain that MS Dhoni will be traveling as mentor and would assume a similar role with equal responsibility.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign under Virat Kohli’s captaincy against Pakistan in Dubai on October 24. They will also face New Zealand, Afghanistan and two more teams from the qualifying stages in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage.