Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar promised to do a dharna outside Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s house, and would have asked him to comeback had the captain announced his retirement than stepping down from captaincy.
Speaking to NDTV recently, Gavaskar said Dhoni is still a game changer and India need him badly in the middle-order.
The World Cup winning player also said Dhoni is nothing less than a destroyer in modern day game and is still capable of changing the equation of the match on his terms.
“If he had quit as a player, I would have been the first one outside his house, having a dharna and asking him to make a comeback. As a player, he is still a destroyer. He change fortunes of the game in a single over. India needs him as a player very very badly. I am happy that he has decided to stay on as a player.”
Gavaskar also shed some light on the effects of him not remaining as a captain and said the decision would help Dhoni concentrate more on his batting, which hasn’t been up to the mark, and also his wicket-keeping skills, which would benefit the Indian team in the end.
He also spoke about Dhoni’s ideal batting position, saying number four or five is the best for him and he can score runs at first, and later provide the finishing touches.
“Yes (it will). Virat would definitely use him at number four or five because having him further down the order doesn’t make any sense. Yes, he is a finisher but he can play a big innings at four or five and still end up as a finisher. The wicket-keeping will be a lot easier because he will not be thinking about the bowling changes and field placements, which can sometimes distract you.”
Cool as an ice, as often he is termed as, MS Dhoni will be of crucial help to Virat Kohli (which is likely to replace him as the limited-over captain) on the field, given his wealth of experience in leading his side in different situations.
“It will certainly help India because MSD’s (Dhoni) calm and composure will certainly help Virat. Often in Test cricket there is time to rectify your mistakes but in limited overs cricket, things happen fast and there is not much time so sometimes you might taken an impulsive decision which is where MSD will come in very very handy.”
Gavaskar, who was the first Indian to score 10,000 runs in Tests, said he isn’t surprised with his decision as he expected this to happen but by the end of Champions Trophy.
“I don’t think it really is a surprise but it has come a little bit early. I had thought that he would want to captain till the Champions Trophy where India are the defending champions. May be after that he would hand over the reins to Virat Kohli. But considering the tremendous success the Test team has had under Kohli, I am not too surprised that MSD has decided to hand over the reins to Kohli”, he concluded.