"You have Rahul Dravid as a coach, what else do you want?" - Mohammad Kaif on whether India are missing MS Dhoni as captain in ICC events
Mohammad Kaif feels the absence of MS Dhoni as skipper cannot be an excuse for India for not winning ICC events as they have a legend in Rahul Dravid as their head coach.
India have not won an ICC event since the 2013 Champions Trophy. The 2011 World Cup champions have lost in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup and the final of the World Test Championship this year since Rohit Sharma and Dravid took over from Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri as captain and head coach respectively.
During an interaction on 'Virtual Encounters' on DD India, Kaif was asked whether India are missing Dhoni as captain in ICC events, to which he responded:
"Dhoni has done well. I believe the likes of Rohit Sharma and all these guys are good captains. You have Rahul Dravid as a coach, what else do you want?"
While acknowledging that the former Indian skipper is missed, the cricketer-turned-commentator believes Rohit can lead the team to ICC titles:
"Ya, you miss Dhoni because he has done so well in ICC events but I think someone like Rohit Sharma can take the team forward. He has got the players and the team to win ICC events."
Dhoni led India to three ICC titles. The Men in Blue won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy under his leadership.
"You dropped Chahal and picked Ashwin" - Mohammad Kaif on the basic mistakes India have committed in ICC events
Citing the example of Ravichandran Ashwin playing ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Mohammad Kaif highlighted that India have committed basic mistakes in ICC events:
"They have made mistakes, you went to Australia, you picked Ashwin ahead of Chahal. Chahal was in your scheme of things in T20Is. You dropped Chahal and picked Ashwin. So you have been making all these basic mistakes."
The former Indian batter pointed out that team selection and the backing he gave to his players were MS Dhoni's strongest suits:
"That's why you talk about MS Dhoni because he knows who to play in the first XI. The major strength of Dhoni is backing his players. I think that's what the Indian team is probably missing right now."
Kaif concluded by stating that India will win ICC events if they back their players, pick the right squad and are tactically spot-on.