Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would not be too upset after losing the captaincy.
The former India skipper, who was recently sacked by Rising Pune Supergiants as their skipper for the upcoming edition of the IPL, stepped down as the limited-overs skipper earlier this year and Gilchrist said that the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman would be enjoying his time ‘limited attendance’ in international cricket.
“Batting, keeping and captaining at a time is not easy to do. I would not expect MS to be too upset about the loss of captaincy. He has achieved everything that can possibly be achieved in cricket. He has won all the trophies that one can win. I think he is enjoying his limited attendance in cricket. He has been one of the most exciting cricketers to watch in the last 10-15 years,” Gilchrist told Mumbai Mirror.
Meanwhile, the legendary cricketer has expressed his surprise over Australia’s massive 333-run win against India in Pune. Gilchrist was one of the many who were not giving Steve Smith’s men even an outside chance of winning the match but the visitors defied all the odds and finished the contest inside three days after bowling out India for 105 and 107 in the two innings.
“I did think it was possible but looking at the two teams prior to the Test, it was unexpected, and certainly not in three days. My thoughts were that Renshaw (Matt) and Handscomb (Peter) did not have any previous experience but they prepared very well and had the best of the condition on a wicket which was not up to the standard. All in all, they did well to get that win and it is exciting for the rest of the series. India still play well in these conditions and they will be cursing. They will be ready to strike back,” he said.
Gilchrist further said that Virat Kohli cannot rescue the team every time and advised the other Indian batsmen to step up to take the pressure off their captain. He also had a word of praise for R Ashwin but said that the Indian spinner has his task cut out against the Aussie batsmen.
“Virat, as I have said, is undoubtedly the world class player, a proven performer. But he can’t do business every single time. So there is a challenge for the rest of the batting group to find a way to shine on the odd times when Virat has not. Ravi Ashwin’s record speaks for itself. But the Australian batsmen seem to have a plan for him. He has a challenge too,” he said.