India vs England: 'Having MS Dhoni around would help Kohli,' says Anil Kumble

Chief coach Anil Kumble has seen the transition of Indian cricket at two different periods. One where he was involved as a player, handing over the Test captaincy reins to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and now seeing as a coach the 35-year-old from Ranchi pass on the mantle to Virat Kohli in the limited-overs.

The 46-year-old leg-spinning legend from Bengaluru said that even though Dhoni may just be a wicketkeeper-batsman of the side, he was still a leader of the pack, something that the team will cash in upon in the coming months.

Kumble was effusive in his praise for Dhoni, the captain, on Thursday. Speaking at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium at the outskirts of Pune before nets on the second day of preparations ahead of the ODI series against England, Kumble said: "

"MS has been one of the best captains that we have had. In terms of results he has had for India, he has been exceptional. Hats off to him and congratulations to all the things as captain. Now really looking forward to MS as a batsman, 'keeper and as a leader. He's still a leader in the team and that's something that we will be looking forward to," Kumble said.

"We all know the value that he brings as a player, as a batsman and 'keeper and of course his value of the field with all the experience that he has. It's never easy to take a call and 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 probably thought it was the right time to take over for MS to come in."

Kumble said that it was not tough for him to hand over the Test reins when he did in 2008 as he thought Dhoni was ready for the job. "The first phase (of transition that he was part of) was probably easy for me because I was old and it was easy for me to say, "here MS, take over". It was very difficult for me to continue at that point in time, the body was not willing. But I thought it was the right time for me leave as well because MS was ready to take over the Test captaincy. He had just won the World T20 (2007) and then won the triangular one-day series in Australia for the first time (2007-08). He had done all the right things and I felt it was the right time for me.

"From there, 2007 to 2017, 10 years as captain 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's not easy just coming into a team as captain and then having so many senior players. He managed them really well. Not just got the best out of them but also got the best for the team, both as No. 1 Test side, later on winning the World Cup in 2011, then the Champions Trophy (2013), and of course many other victories that he has been involved in.

"Probably in this team, other than Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh), everybody else has started their careers under MS, so that's the kind of transition that you may call that he has seen. It's been phenomenal to achieve what he has been able to achieve as a captain."

Kumble said that the time was ideal for Kohli to take over all the formats as captain, having succeeded retiring Dhoni as Test skipper at the start of 2015. Having Dhoni around as a player would help Kohli a long way, Kumble said.

"It's great for the team to have MS on the field with Virat leading the side. Virat came into the side when MS was the captain, so the bonhomie and the bond that they have will only help Virat grow as a leader. Virat has shown exceptional quality and what he brings to the team both as an individual and as a leader. That has certainly rubbed off on a lot of other individuals in the team and we have seen the results in the Test format. I am sure even in the one-day format he'll be equally good," the veteran of 619 Test wickets said.

KUMBLESPEAK

On change of format...

Last year we didn't play much of ODIs. The last series that we played against New Zealand was a good one. We would like to think that this is the only preparation we have before the Champions Trophy, so it's important that we start off on a good note. There's been a lot of Test cricket, which is good. We have had great results over the last year and we would like to start off the new year on a good note.

On no room for experimenting…

At any given point in time, we would like to put together the best team on the park. We would like to do that considering that each game is like a knockout in the Champions Trophy as well. So, that's the kind of mindset the players have. That's the intent that the team also will have. There's not much experimentation or much, probably, practice in terms of combinations and in terms of what you would like to be prepared with. Results are important, so we will certainly be looking for the result.

On competition for middle-order slots…

It's a good choice that we have in the squad with Yuvraj coming back into the team. We all know what he's capable of, both as a batsman and a bowler. But having said that, both Manish (Pandey) and Kedar (Jadhav) in that slot have really done well. It's nice to have these choices and there is competition for places in the team.

On how different preparation for Tests and ODIs are…

The preparations aren't that dissimilar. Yes, you have to bring in a lot more intensity and a lot more energy in the way we practice, and in what we try and do with certain batsmen and bowlers. Practice with bowlers... with yorkers, slower balls, slower bouncers and those kind of things and then probably use a wet ball for practice. These are things that you bring in, in a one-day format.