New Delhi: Sunil Gavaskar believes Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still the best bet to captain India in Tests and wants the BCCI to wait for some time before zeroing in on the candidate who may be suitable to take over from him in future.

Criticised for his unimpressive captaincy and performance in Test cricket, Dhoni has offered to quit the leadership role in the longer format of the game if the BCCI feels there is a better replacement waiting in the wings.

However, Gavaskar feels there is no reason to hurry and Dhoni is still the best bet for the job. "Dhoni obviously must have felt deeply the 4-0 loss of India. So what he wanted to say is that he is ready to play under a captain if the BCCI can get one, and that is exactly what you expect from a team man like him," Gavaskar told 'NDTV'.

"In my view he is still the best bet for the job, there are of course a couple of candidates but BCCI should wait for a couple of seasons as Mahi himself said may be till 2013 so that we can have a better idea of the candidates who are likely to take over from him in future," he added.

Asked if India should opt for different captains for the three different formats, Gavaskar said: "If you have somebody to captain all three formats, nothing like it, really because there would be no division of command.

"If you have a captain for each format of the game then the common players in all the formats will get confused because of the division of command," he said.

Asked if the 0-4 Test loss against Australia will be forgotten if India do well in the ODIs, Gavaskar said: "No, I don't think it's likely to happen. Every team and player is rated by how they do in Test, which is the highest level. It is a Test victory which matters to real cricket lovers."

However, Gavaskar said if India fare well in the ODIs, it will give selectors a fair idea of players who have the right temperament and who could be looked at for the future.

"If India do well, it will give us an idea about players who can be looked at for future. Because in 50 overs, one can have a better look of players who can play under pressure and have a good temperament," he said.

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