Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar believes that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will find it tough to get going due to his age in the upcoming One-Day International series.

Dhoni currently features only in limited-overs format after retiring from Tests in 2014. India’s limited-overs skipper last played a game for India in August during the T20 series against West Indies in India and his last appearance in ODIs came during the Zimbabwe tour.

Citing legendary golfer Tiger Wood’s example, Gavaskar said that it will be tough for the Indian captain to catch after remaining out of action for such a long period.

“It will be extremely challenging for Dhoni to switch on. Look at Tiger Woods, it is very difficult to catch up when you are in your 30s,” Gavaskar told NDTV.

When asked about the player who will play a vital role in the series, Gavaskar picked Virat Kohli’s name. The Indian Test skipper has been in brilliant form in the limited-overs format this year and also found his form in Tests too. He scored a majestic 211 in the last Test against New Zealand and led the team to a 3-0 whitewash against the Kiwis.

“Virat Kohli will be the key player for India and of course, the bowlers if they bowl the right areas,” Gavaskar said.

The former player also said that India will badly miss spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both the spinners wreaked havoc in the recently concluded Test series but were rested for the ODI series as India is scheduled to play as many as 10 Tests in the coming months.

Gavaskar also said that unlike the Test series, the ODI series will be very closely fought. He backed the visitors to give a good fight to the hosts in the limited-overs series.

“New Zealand are a very good ODI team. Brendon McCullum has left a terrific legacy. New Zealand will give India a hard time in the ODIs, much harder than the Tests,” said Gavaskar.