In his first media briefing after quitting ODI and Âu00c2u0088T20 captaincy, ex-skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave some insight into his thought process what led him to take the extreme step
Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni
|Virat Kohli at nets in Pune yesterday. Pic/PTI
Pune: Since the day he quit Test captaincy and with it, Test cricket, midway through India's tour of Australia in 2014-15, resigning as captain from the shorter formats was always on MS Dhoni's mind, this was revealed by the man himself during a media interaction here yesterday.
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MS Dhoni
In his first press briefing since quitting the Indian ODI and T20 captaincy, Dhoni gave some insight into his thought process what led him to take the extreme step.
"To cut a long story short, in my mind my last series was the South African series in India. After that it has been pretty easy to judge why I went to Zimbabwe and all of that. After that, I finally told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially that I wouldn't be captaining anymore," said Dhoni.
'Always in my mind'
"I am somebody who believes that in our scenario, split captaincy is something that doesn't really work," he added. Elaborating the point, Dhoni said: "It was something I always believed in with the Indian team. It is very crucial that one player leads the team in all formats. Now that I can't be the Test captain since I have quit Test cricket, I don't think my views should change. So, it was something that was always in my mind."
Dhoni explained that he wanted Virat to warm up in his new position before handing over the baton completely.
"Virat took over the Test captaincy and I wanted him to ease into the job, to have some time over there and get into the full captainship role, so he was always ready. The limited-overs format is not a big challenge and that's why I finally decided to move on," the 35-year-old added.
'Right time to go'
The three-match ODI series against England is India's only assignment before the Champions Trophy in England. And elaborating on the timing of his decision Dhoni said, "I felt it was the right time to move on. If I would've stayed till the Champions Trophy, nothing much would have changed.
"A lot of people were asking why did I quit Tests mid-series in Australia. But you have to look at the bigger picture, what is more beneficial. One more Test into my numbers, won't make a lot of difference," he added.
Dhoni also felt that the current Indian team has the potential to be the best Indian side ever: "I feel this team has the potential to do well in all the formats, irrespective of where we are playing.
"I think this team has the potential, when it comes to winning games, they should win games more than any other captain or team has won. You look at the age-group and the kind of talent they have, if everything goes well, they have the potential to play well for the next 10 or 12 years, if not more."
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