Mahendra Singh Dhoni Quitting Forced Selectors to Hand Virat Kohli Test Captaincy: Ajit Wadekar
Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from Test cricket after the drawn game at Melbourne last December handing the reins of the team to a much younger Virat Kohli.
The Indian captaincy has been a hot topic for debate over the last few months. India, now have two different captains leading in different formats and the idea of multiple captains have sparked off serious controversy. Former Test captain and selector Ajit Wadekar has hinted that Virat Kohli's appointment as Test skipper was probably by default. (Happy Birthday MSD)
The former India manager felt that Mahendra Singh Dhoni retiring from Tests left the selectors with no choice but to pass the baton on to a much younger Kohli. "Of course, selectors didn't have a choice. If Dhoni was retiring, then who had to be given the responsibility? It had to be Kohli," Wadekar told Cricketnext.com.
After the recent Bangladesh tour where India lost the ODI series, Kohli's comments on 'decision making' made massive rounds in the media and the news of rifts between ODI skipper Dhoni and Kohli gathered steam. It even forced team director Ravi Shastri to say that all was well in the dressing room. (Future Of Indian Cricket Safe: Richards)
However, neither Kohli or Dhoni are embarking on the tour of Zimbabwe and India will be led by Ajinkya Rahane during their African safari. Wadekar though is happy with Rahane's appointment.
"I am very happy to see Rahane as captain", said the Mumbai legend, "With a calm and composed demeanour, he will have a good time in Zimbabwe." (My Own Style of Captaincy: Ajinkya Rahane)
Wadekar though, had a stern view on Dhoni quitting the Test captaincy.
"I wanted Dhoni to give a second thought to Test cricket and continue with the captaincy", said the former left-hander.
Wadekar, who has been one of the most successful managers in Indian cricket history, also blamed the Men in Blue for taking the series against Bangladesh casually. He blamed India's series defeat on the lack of preparation.
However, according to Wadekar, the return of Harbhajan Singh will help the Indian team and believed that he should make the final eleven along with Ravichandran Ashwin in the future tours.