Everyone Should Understand That MS Dhoni Is Not 20 Years Old Anymore, Says Kapil Dev

Former India captain Kapil Dev, in an exclusive chat with NDTV, spoke at length about what makes Virat Kohli so special, India's chances at the ongoing ICC Women's World T20 and whether Ravi Shastri is the ideal person to coach Team India. Another pertinent point he made was about MS Dhoni, saying that people still expect him to play like a 20 year old. "I think whatever he has done, he's done a great job. But I think the bad part is we are expecting the same 20 or 25 years old Dhoni, which is not going to work," he said.

"He has experience, if he can help the team with his experience, it's well done. But one thing everyone should understand that he is not 20, and he is not going to be 20 again. So whatever he brings to the table, if he can make himself available and he can play good cricket, he is an asset to the team. Only his fitness is important and I wish he keeps on playing more matches," he added.

Elaborating on what makes Indian captain Virat Kohli so special, he said, "I think he is a special person, a special player. I think certain people are special and he is one of them. The people who have talent and are ready to work hard they become superhuman. So I think he is talented and disciplined and that makes him what he is."

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team has made it to the semi-finals of the ICC Women's World T20, and are going strong in their bid to win the title. Giving some words of wisdom to the women's team, he said, "I think they should go with that frame of mind that yes we want to win the cup. If they don't win, that doesn't matter because how you play is very important. If they play as a unit and make less mistakes, they will be champions."

Barely days ago, Virat Kohli said that Ravi Shastri is not a "yes man". So does he think that Shastri is the ideal person to coach Team India? "If the captain and the team is happy, why should we question somebody? I don't like to question which I am not related to, I do not like to answer because I do not know what is happening inside. If the team is happy and he is doing a good job, good luck to him," said Dev.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team MS Dhoni Virat Kohli Kapil Dev Australia vs India 2018/19 Cricket