Our Target Is To Reach No. 1 Across All Three Formats: MSK Prasad
Jan 9, 2019 at 4:12 PM
Mahendra Singh Dhoni might have stepped down as the limited-overs skipper but his commitments towards the team are far from over according to chief selector MSK Prasad. Backing Dhoni’s decision, the former wicketkeeper-turned-selector said India’s most decorated skipper will play an integral role in grooming Virat Kohli as one of the best captains.
Speaking to bcci.tv, Prasad said:“For Mahi (Dhoni), it is the country’s interest that comes ahead of his personal interest. He would have done enough analysis and felt that Virat is the right man to lead. He is going to continue and that is the best thing to have happened. He will definitely mentor Virat and see to it that he becomes one of the best captains. Both on and off the field, he can play a big role in mentoring Virat. “
The Indian team will start a new chapter when they take on England in the upcoming series. With a new captain at the helm who has already led the Test team to the top of the ICC rankings, the fans will be hoping for a similar result in the limited-overs format. And Prasad is no different when it comes to expectations from the new captain.
He said: “Our target is to reach No. 1 in all three formats. We have done very well in Tests and are not too far away in ODIs (Rank 3) and T20Is (Rank 2). We have a clear-cut plan and are working towards it.”
“We have enough plans for the period from the ICC Champions Trophy (June 2017) till the 2019 World Cup. We have close to 55 ODIs and we will make sure that those who play the 2019 World Cup, have enough experience before they play in the marquee event,” he added.
The 41-year-old also had a word of praise for the BCCI for their efforts to groom the youngsters. The likes of KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav performed brilliantly during the Test series against England and Prasad credited India A coach Rahul Dravid and head coach Anil Kumble for the same.
“We have to credit the BCCI for having managed to bridge the gap between domestic, India A and international level. We must appreciate the concept of India A tours. The selectors have slowly inducted the youngsters into the Indian team.”
“Both Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble are doing a fantastic job. You cannot have a better person than Rahul to guide the youngsters. Rahul has an enormous amount of experience and a youngster is going to benefit immensely,” he added.
Speaking about the selectors’ plans to include new players in the national team, Prasad said:”Of the teams that play international cricket, most have very few first-class teams. In India, we have 28 first-class teams. When we have so many teams, we should have enough bench strength. The volume of players we have, the talent and potential we have, we need to keep our bench strength ready.”
“What we need to do is rotate our players. If we can’t recognize the performances in domestic cricket, the intensity of domestic players will come down. Those who do not play in the IPL, may feel let down if their performance is not recognized. We have discussed this as selectors. We need to identify performers across the 28 teams and then groom them. With more India A tours, we will have more quality players,” he concluded.