MS Dhoni the best man Virat Kohli could have at his disposal feels former selector Saba Karim

What’s the story?

Former National Selector Saba Karim has said that MS Dhoni’s role post his resignation as limited-overs skipper on Wednesday night, becomes even more vital, adding that the former is the best man for the likely captain Virat Kohli to have at his disposal.

“Dhoni is still irreplaceable when it comes to the shorter format of the game. And honestly, he is the best man that Kohli could have at his disposal. The kind of experience that Dhoni has and the equation he shares with Kohli, it is a win-win situation for Indian cricket.

“I have been there with the team for a while and I can tell you that these two share an excellent bond. Honestly, knowing these two, I know for a fact that they don’t care about what is being written in the media. For both Dhoni and Kohli, the team is first priority. Karim told cricketnext.com.

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It was a Wednesday night like no other on the 4^th of January 2017, when Dhoni resigned from his post as India’s ODI and T20I captain, 11 days before the start of the series against England in Pune.

While the murmurs had risen constantly over the Ranchi-born cricketer handing over the reigns and playing just as a wicket-keeper batsman, the decision on when he would do that was always left for speculation.

Six months ahead of his side’s Champions Trophy defense, Dhoni felt it was time to give another person an opportunity to see how far he could take Indian cricket.

The heart of the matter

It was becoming increasingly evident in the last 12-18 months that this current lot of players were looking at a different person as their leader. There was no questioning the amount of respect they had for Dhoni, but Kohli was starting to become the guy whom the younger lot began to align to more, purely because they played a lot more under him in Test cricket.

There was even talk of Dhoni and Kohli not being on the same page with regards to certain decisions, but Karim squashed all that rumours away, stating that the duo shared an excellent bond and didn’t care too much about what was being written in the press, adding it was always the team which was of the utmost priority for them.

What next?

On Friday, the selection committee will meet to pick the squad for the series against England starting in Pune on the 15^th of January. Under Dhoni, we saw several players received long ropes. It will be interesting what strategy Kohli adopts and the plans he has in place for India to retain the Champions Trophy in England later this year.

Sportskeeda's take

The decision to give up leadership across all formats will now help Dhoni focus on his batting, an aspect that has been on the decline in the past 18 months and more. His slot in the batting order will also now be a question that would need a clear answer and it would perhaps help him if the management decides to play him in the Top 5 rather than have him come later and get going from the word go.