Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed the shocking decision of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to step down as a captain in the limited-overs format as the legendary cricketer believes Dhoni has the capability to play along till the 2019 World Cup as a player.
The news came as a shock to the cricket fraternity as many insiders believed that the 35-year-old would lead India at least till the Champions Trophy that is due to be played this summer.
“Why not,” Ganguly commented, “he is still fit and if he can motivate himself he can definitely play till the World Cup in 2019.”
Sourav Ganguly believes Dhoni has made the decision based on the current needs of Indian team as this would leave plenty of time for Virat Kohli to test the best players ahead of the Champions Trophy as India will only play the ODI and T20I series against England ahead of the international tournament.
“He made the decision based on the future and the needs of the Indian team.”
However, Ganguly has refused the comparisons made between his records and Dhoni’s as he said: “His ODI records speak for themselves. He won everything, almost all tournaments so he was a great captain.”
The former captain also believes Virat Kohli will be ready to take over as the limited-overs skipper as he has been impressive as the captain in the longest format over the past two years.
Dhoni finished as the most successful Indian captain ever across all formats as he has won 27 in 60 Tests, 110 in 199 ODIs and 41 in 72 T20Is as a captain for India from 2007 to 2016.
Despite stepping down as a captain, MS Dhoni still has plenty to offer to Indian cricket as his wicket-keeping and finishing skills are yet to be matched by any other player in the world.