Ravi Shashtri Not Surprised With Dhoni’s Decision To Step Down

Jan 7, 2017 at 9:17 PM

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Ravi Shashtri Not Surprised With Dhoni’s Decision To Step Down

Famous commentator and former team director Ravi Shastri has admitted that he is not surprised by the decision of MS Dhoni to step down as the captain in both ODIs and T20Is earlier this week.

Ravi Shastri was one of the many admirers of MS Dhoni and was the team director when Dhoni suddenly decided to retire from Tests during the 2014 series against Australia down under. Speaking of that day, Shastri said there was no other choice as he had taken everyone by surprise.

“There was absolutely no chance of negotiation, not a chance,” Shastri was quoted as saying Widen India on Thursday (January 5).

“He didn’t come to discuss the matter, he just came out and told us of his decision. That came as a huge surprise, of course. But this decision to quit from the captaincy of the one-day and Twenty20 sides, this doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

“The reason I say I am not surprised at this decision is that he is not someone who will chase the seat,” said Shastri. “Kursi ke peeche bhaagega nahi. He is the kind of guy who will play on his own terms, and this is what his terms are.”

“He has obviously given it a lot of thought, though I must admit it must have been a tough decision to make. He has been the captain for so long, it wouldn’t have been easy to make the call that enough was enough. But then again, MS knows that the man in waiting is ready like he must have felt in Australia when he not just quit the Test captaincy but Test cricket itself. This is a very sensible and wise decision.”

The 54-year old has also praised the timing of the change as ViratKohli would have the England series to work his way with the things before going into the Champions Trophy later in the summer where India will try to defend their title.

“Just in terms of the timing, this has given Virat (Kohli) time till the Champions Trophy to prepare for the title defence. MS has won everything there is to win, he really has nothing to prove. Again, the reason I say he has nothing to prove is that he is easily India’s most successful captain, by a distance. There is no one even close to him in that regard. The names that follow in that list a fair distance behind are Kapil Dev, who led India to the World Cup title in 1983 and because of whom we won the Test series in England in 1986. And Ajit (Wadekar) in an era before there was one-day cricket when we won successive Test series in the West Indies and then England in 1971. And of course, Tiger (Pataudi) for flamboyance. Baaki koi nahi [there is no one else].”

The commentator has also backed the decision of MS Dhoni to make himself available only as a wicket keeper batsman for India as he has plenty to offer for Indian cricket in the coming two to three years.

“The way I look at it is that the best thing to have come out of yesterday is that he is still available to play for the country in ODI and T20 cricket,” he said.

“For starters, there is no wicketkeeping alternative to him. No one is anywhere near him, forget about someone competing for his slot. And giving up the captaincy will allow him to express himself in a bigger way and enjoy his cricket and his batting even more.

“And, given all that he has done for all these years, he deserves to enjoy himself. The responsibility of finishing or whatever can be given to someone else. Virat can use him anywhere in the order, which is brilliant. He can even use him at the top of the order, and when I say top of the order, he could even use him as an opener in 20-over cricket. I think that will be brilliant,” Shastri said.

He also beleives it would not be tough for a player like MS Dhoni to step down and be a normal player in the dressing room as he was the most influential player in the Indian dressing room for a while now.

“He would have already made that shift,” said Shastri who knows Dhoni from the very close quarters. “He must have thought about it long and hard. In any case, there is not too much international limited-overs cricket lined up for India. These six games against England (three ODIs and three T20Is in January-February), then a break and then the Champions Trophy in England in June. And then God alone knows when next after that. Given all that, I just think he has made the absolutely right decision. Nailed it.”

Asked if Virat Kohli is ready to take extra responsibilities, Shastri said: “Absolutely! Though the one-day and T20 games will be a learning curve because you need much quicker decision-making skills than in Tests. But he is ready, of course. ”

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