Dhoni's like an elder statesman in the dressing room: Ravi Shastri

The Indian team decimated Sri Lanka is the recently concluded bilateral series, securing the series without losing a single match. The Men in Blue scripted a 9-0 victory against the Islanders in all three formats of the game. And a key cog of that winning squad was India’s former skipper, MS Dhoni.

Dhoni has been an asset to the Indian team ever since his foray into international cricket. However, despite coming to his age, the right-hander still keeps the capability of decimating any bowling attack in the world. Recently, India coach Ravi Shastri has heaped praises on the ex-skipper lauding his presence in the dressing room. Shastri was appointed as Team India coach by the CAC in July until the 2019 World Cup following Anil Kumble’s resignation.

Speaking exclusively to India Today’s Boria Majumdar, Shastri said, “Dhoni is still the best wicketkeeper in the world and he is the quickest. The break from Test cricket has been great for Dhoni. He is an asset to the Indian team. He is an elder statesman in the dressing room.”

Dhoni is capable of delivering more

The dashing wicketkeeper-batsman retired from Test cricket in 2014 and Shastri believes the decision has paid off and it has helped Dhoni stay fit and agile for the shorter formats. Although the swashbuckling batsman suffered a slight slump in form last year, he has enjoyed a good form after giving up the limited-overs captaincy in January. In 18 ODIs in 2017, Dhoni has 548 runs at an average of 91.33.

His composure in tricky situations helped India out in Kandy where Sri Lanka fought hard. Both knocks of 45 not out and 67 not out followed by an unbeaten 49 in a high-scoring game in Colombo took the wind out of Sri Lanka’s sails. And Shastri believes Dhoni’s performance against Sri Lanka was just the trailer to what was yet to come.