Crowe says Dhoni can give Test captaincy to Kohli

Wellington: New Zealand’s former skipper Martin Crowe feels India’s chances of defending the title at next year’s 50-over World Cup could improve if Mahendra Singh Dhoni hands over the Test captaincy to Virat Kohli.

“I would say that if India want to defend the next World Cup, I think MS Dhoni needs a rest somewhere, at some point, not necessarily from playing, but maybe it could be by not captaining the Test side for a period leading into the World Cup, to refresh him so that he can hit the ground running for
that World Cup. So there’s a couple of things to ponder there,” Crowe said.

India ended the ignominious tour of New Zealand by drawing the second and final cricket Test after home team skipper Brendon McCullum became the first Kiwi batsman to hit a triple-century and stage an incredible turnaround to clinch the two-match series 1-0.

But speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Crowe called Dhoni an “incredible” player.

“I think he’s an absolutely gifted player, a marvel at times, given all the formats that he plays, but I do wonder sometimes about how he regards Test cricket. Just a point that I’d like to throw in there. Overall, MS Dhoni is an incredible cricketer, and I think that the main fact is that he probably
can’t keep doing every format from here on in.”

Indian batting great Rahul Dravid believed it might be better for Kohli to take over after the tours of England and Australia.

“I think that World Cup is going to be the watershed moment, and two big series in England and Australia, and after that I believe it will be time for (Dhoni), both personally and for Indian cricket, to assess whether it’s time for a new man to take over,” Dravid said.

“Luckily, in some ways, we’ve got Virat Kohli, who’s playing beautifully, so it’s not that you don’t have somebody waiting in the wings.”

“You’ve got a young player who has, by all accounts, led before. He’s led India Under-19 before, he’s led Delhi before, he’s led North Zone, he’s got leadership experience.”

PTI