NEW DELHI, Dec 30:
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar and ex-India cricketer VVS Laxman today said the contributions of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has just retired from the Test format, to Indian cricket “cannot be measured” in words and added that he handled the transition well.
In a shocking turn of events, the Indian cricket captain Dhoni today retired from Test cricket with immediate effect, citing strain of playing all formats, after his team lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia in Melbourne.
“What he has achieved for Indian cricket is incredible, what he brought and his contribution cannot be measured in words,” Gavaskar said.
The batting great felt Dhoni felt the strain on not just his body but also in his mind.
“It just got a little too much for him. There were huge expectations, so they were putting a lot of strain on him. The overseas defeats and seeing the team concede 500 runs and bowling 100 overs in almost every Tests took a toll on his mind also. I have always said that a captain is as good as the team,” he said.
“He may have thought that it’s the right time to hand over Test captaincy to Virat Kohli. Virat was not affected by captaincy as he reeled off a century in each innings. That’s why he is stepping away for Kohli, who is having fantastic series in Australia.”
Both Gavaskar and Laxman said this will give Dhoni, who remains India’s T20 and ODI skipper, more time to prepare for the upcoming tri-series, involving England besides Australia, and the 2015 World Cup Down Under.
“This will give him more time to get his mind rejuvenated for the tri-series and World Cup,” said Gavaskar. (AGENCIES)
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