Dhoni’s role behind the stumps critical for Kohli: Tendulkar

The 2019 edition of the World Cup is now six days away and while India is considered one of the favourites going into the tournament in England and Wales, a lot will depend on how skipper Virat Kohli leads the team in the showpiece event. While pundits questioned his captaincy during the recently concluded Indian Premier League, Kohli has found a backer in none other than Sachin Tendulkar.

Speaking to IANS, the legend said that leading a team in a T20 format like the IPL and to lead the national team are two completely different things and to question Kohli’s skills as a captain on the basis of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s performance is anything but unfair.

“I feel they are two different formats with one being a T20 format with a number of foreign players in your team and the other is a format where all your Indian colleagues are there in the team,” he pointed.

While Kohli has an impressive record in international cricket as captain, there is no denying the fact that former skipper MS Dhoni plays an integral role in guiding Kohli and helps him with not just setting the right fields for the right batsmen, but also constantly guides the young bowlers in the team. Tendulkar feels that not only is Dhoni’s role behind the wicket crucial, but also Kohli is lucky to have such an experienced campaigner.

“Standing there, Dhoni can see the entire ground just the way the batsman is seeing. And, his inputs would be critical because he will know how well the pitch is playing or how badly it is playing, whether the ball is stopping or it is coming onto the bat nicely. So, having someone that experienced standing behind the stumps is always a bonus,” he revealed.

A lot has been also said about India’s dependence on the top three batsmen in the team -- Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Kohli. While the little maestro believes that there is more to this batting unit than just those three, Tendulkar is also of the opinion that there could be a couple of games where one individual steals the show with his brilliance.

Indo-Asian News Service