Dhoni will finish as one of India's greatest players ever produced: Dean Jones

Dean Jones, the former Australian batsman, came out in support of Mahendra Singh Dhoni stating that the Indian team will miss the strategic acumen of their limited-overs captain once he calls time on his illustrious career. "We are pretty quick to push our great players out," Jones told PTI in an interview on Monday (June 20). "What Dhoni has done for Indian cricket, let him find his own time."
Dhoni, who retired from Test cricket at the end of 2014 in Australia, led a second-string young Indian team to a 3-0 One-Day International (ODI) series triumph in Zimbabwe, which was his first series win in limited-overs cricket in nearly two years since the 2-1 victory against West Indies at home.
Ravi Shastri, the former director of India, had earlier suggested that it was time for the national selection panel to appoint Virat Kohli as the captain across all three formats of the game in the interest of the team. Jones, however, wasn't in favour of the move.
"I don't think Virat (Kohli) is in a huge rush to captain everything (format) at the moment. Time will come. Trust me, you will miss Dhoni a lot more in India, when he retires," he said. "I think that will happen soon. Dhoni will end as one of the greatest players India have ever produced. Honestly, it is no big rush."
While Dhoni seemed to be a pale shadow of his former self throughout the recently concluded limited-overs season, including the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kohli has been in the pristine form. Jones lavished praise on the Indian Test captain, calling him world's finest cricketer at the moment.
"Virat is really in a good part of his life," Jones said. "He looks brilliant with the way he's playing. He's happy. He is super fit. He's just a great example for the youth of India. He looks and presents himself as an athlete. More strength to him. I just love watching him play.
"I find him refreshing. I love his charisma. I think he's got personality. He walks into bat and you have no idea what's going to happen. He's just really cool. He is polished, now knows how to finish it off. He is the best player in the world probably now for me."
Jones further added that Kohli's unbelievable consistency had taken him past South Africa's AB de Villiers. "It's a big thing because I thought AB was up there... You'd to do something 'stupidly good' to get past him. He's got past him over the last year, ever so slightly. To watch Kohli bat is an honour," said Jones.
Jones, who recently coached the Islamabad franchise in the inaugural season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), denied being in the race for the coveted job of India's next head coach. "No, I'm not going anywhere. Teams are mainly led by great captains. I think India have great leaders in Kohli, Dhoni and a lot of good senior players... whoever coaches them will do a good job," Jones said.
"The CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee) of VVS (Laxman), Sourav (Ganguly) and Sachin (Tendulkar) are following the right process to make a proper decision. It's the number one job in the world as a coach. Your shoulders are under more pressure but at the same time whoever they pick will do a fantastic job.
"I'm too busy commentating. I really enjoyed the coaching job with Islamabad in the PSL. Coaching a national team is completely different, where you're not only managing players but coaching them as well. But in franchise it's about just managing and getting the selection process right," he concluded.