Shastri in all praise for Dhoni, says the Indian captain is one of the all-time greats of world cricket

While there have been calls to hand over the T20 and ODI reins as well to the 26-year-old Kohli, team director Ravi Shastri was vocal in his support of the limited-overs captain, says a report in The Times Of India. Shastri, a man who was known as much for his consistency as his straight talk, backed Dhoni to take over from where he left off after the World Cup with the Bangladesh series being a mere blip.

"You are talking of a seasoned campaigner, a legend. He (Dhoni) is one of the all-time greats of world cricket. So he takes over a job that he has been doing. Everything falls into place automatically. For the team, (there is) no difference. They played under him in the World Cup, they played under him in Bangladesh (in June). So what's different now? They are playing under a champion," asserted the 53-year-old, who spent time watching Dhoni bat in the nets at the National Cricket Academy here on Friday.

According to a report in The DNA, Shastri also said Dhoni deserved to choose his batting position after all the years of hard work. "He has done the dirty work for the last donkey's years. Give him the chance to enjoy himself. You are talking of one of the greatest one-day captains and players to have played the game. You look down world cricket and check his record (of) what his achievements are in the shorter format of the game. I don't think anyone will come close to him. Don't worry about MS. He will decide (his batting position) on the day (of the game)," said Shastri.