Coach Anil Kumble lauds Dhoni's apt timing of stepping down as captain

MS Dhoni has arguably been the best captain Indian cricket team has ever had. When he replaced Anil Kumble as the captain of the team in Tests back in 2008, he had taken over the helm of Indian cricket. Since then, the wicket-keeper batsman has come a long way. India played under his leadership for almost a decade. The results are there to be seen for all. Dhoni has every major ICC trophy in his cabinet.

Also, he was the first Indian skipper to lead the team to the top position in ICC Test rankings. Clearly, the numbers speak in favor of the captain who led India in 331 matches. Team India head coach Anil Kumble absolutely agrees to all the numbers. As per the quotes in IndianExpress, Kumble recently lauded Dhoni’s timing of stepping down. He felt that MS did the right thing by stepping down as the captain.

He also showered praise on the man from Ranchi. Recalling back the time when he had stepped down as Indian captain in Tests midway through the Australia series in 2008, Kumble mentioned that he had retired since he felt old. Also, he knew that MS was ready to take over as the captain at that time.

“The first phase was probably easy for me because I was old, it was easy for me to say ‘MS take over’. It was difficult for me to continue at that time, the body was not willing but I thought it was the right time for me to leave as well. MS (Dhoni) was ready to take over Test captaincy,” quoted Anil Kumble.

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He credited Dhoni for being able to manage the senior players exceptionally well. When Dhoni took over, senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag were all in the team.

“From there to 2007 to 2017, 10 years of captaincy is phenomenal. It goes to show the capabilities of MS as a leader and also what he has been able to achieve during the transition phase and also when the seniors left as well, it is not easy coming into the team as captain and having so many senior players. He managed them really well,” said Kumble.

“He (Dhoni) not just got the best out of them but also got the best for the team. Both as number one Test side and later on winning the World Cup and then Champions Trophy and many other victories, he has been part of,” he added further.

Talking specifically about Dhoni’s sudden decision to step down as the Indian captain, Kumble cited that the decision must not have been easy. However, he reckons that even Dhoni would have felt that it is the right time for Virat Kohli to take over.

“It is never easy to take a call. Hats off to him. That shows how selfless he is and he probably thought it was the right time for Virat to take over. Like how I felt back then it was the right time for MS to come in, it is great for the team to have MS on the field with Virat leading the side,” mentioned the former Indian leggie.

Anil Kumble capped off the discussion by quoting MS as one of the best captains India has ever had. He congratulated Dhoni for all his success. “MS has been one of the best captains that we have had. Hats off to him and congratulations to him for what he has done as captain. Now looking forward to MS as the batsman and keeper and as a leader. He is still a leader in the team,” Kumble conceded.