Dhoni backs India to be 'most successful' side under Kohli

Former captain believes young star is ready to lead Men in Blue

Former India captain MS Dhoni has backed newly-instated limited-overs skipper Virat Kohli to do justice to the role, claiming that the young superstar is ready to lead India in ODIs and T20Is.

In his first press conference since stepping down as India’s limited-overs captain, Dhoni  said that he was always against the idea of split captaincy and that having a single captain for all three formats is the best way forward for Indian cricket.

“Split captaincy does not work in our scenario and my views did not change after I quit from Test cricket. Limited-overs captaincy is not a big challenge and Virat is ready for it now. I think this team will be the most successful Indian team under Virat,” said Dhoni ahead of the first ODI against England in Pune before adding that he will always be there to assist Kohli.

"I believe this team will be the most successful Indian team under Virat's captaincy" @msdhoni #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/gzGAoj1I4J

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 13, 2017

“The keeper is always the vice-captain whether announced or not and my role will be to assist Virat. Different people like different fields so that depends on Virat, and I will adapt accordingly. I will be there to give as many suggestions as possible. Virat will keep getting better with more responsibility; the 50-over game is a slightly easier format to captain and my job will be to assist him whenever I can,” he added.

Dhoni also revealed that he enjoyed a really comfortable relationship with Kohli. “The kind of relationship we have is just amazing. If I go up to him with 100 ideas, he can so no to all of them because we are at that comfort level.”

Talking about why he did not wait till the 2017 Champions Trophy to step down as skipper, Dhoni said that there was no point continuing something if it does not have any purpose.

“It made no sense for me to continue. People even questioned me when I quit midway through the Test series in Australia. Sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture; I knew Saha was ready and he deserved a chance. Similarly, Virat is well-placed to take over the limited-overs captaincy. So there was no point for me to continue,” he said. “I have had a great run as captain. I have no regrets; it’s been a great journey.”