Dhoni is still the right man to lead India: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid has backed MS Dhoni

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that MS Dhoni is still the right man to lead India and there is no need for a change. Australian legend Ian Chappell had earlier suggested that Dhoni is past his prime and Virat Kohli needed to be appointed the new skipper of the Indian team.

Although India did not win the first Test against England, Dhoni's captaincy was fairly decent and he also played a good hand of 82 runs with the bat. India managed to bat out the final day to secure the draw. The Indians were in a great position at one stage, with England in danger of following-on, but they recovered and eventually the Test ended in a stalemate. Some experts questioned Dhoni’s tactics when England’s lower order was piling on the runs. But Dravid is fully behind Dhoni.

"Dhoni is the right man to take India forward as we have been making progress and going forward under him. A lot of people keep complaining about the past losses in England and Australia (2011-12). But now he has a young team and is doing a good job. As far as Virat (Kohli) is concerned, his time will come," Dravid told mediapersons in a conference call.

Stuart Binny had a decent Test match debut as he played a good innings of 78 to save the test for India. Dravid added, "Stuart, I feel proved to everyone that he belongs to the international arena. People complained that he did not bowl enough. But that was simply because the conditions were not very suited to his style of bowling. I think he will get more chances at the Lord's. Lord's will provide a different set of challenges to what one saw at Trent Bridge in the first Test. The conditions will be a little different and the pitch could be of greater help to the pace bowlers. I am looking forward to an exciting game."

The Indian team management has also been wondering whether to play Ravichandran Ashwin instead of Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming second test at Lords. There is also some talk about playing five bowlers.

On the issue of playing Ashwin or Jadeja, he said, "Given Jadeja's recent performances, it was difficult to leave him out of the side for the Trent Bridge Test. I am sure Ashwin will get his chance depending on the conditions."