EVEN AS HE INSISTED that Virat Kohli deserves to take over the captaincy in all the formats of the game, former India great Farokh Engineer on Monday called for giving limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni the opportunity to decide about his future.
"Dhoni has done a very good job. He has served India very well, he has won us championships, won medals for us. But we shouldn't be too keen to pack him off. He has already retired from Test cricket, it should be up to him to decide. I think we should offer him the privilege to decide about his future," Engineer said during a media interaction in Kolkata.
"I like him (Dhoni), he reminds me of my young days. Every cricketer thinks you got to go when people ask why and not why not. So let him decide about his future," said the flamboyant former wicketkeeper-batsman.
Heaping praise on Test skipper Kohli, the 77-year-old said that the young batsman should be given more time before taking up the captaincy in all the formats.
"Virat is a fantastic player and certainly deserves to be the captain but I think you got to give him some time. We need to persevere with whatever talent we have and I am sure they will bring glory to the country," said Engineer, who played 46 Test matches for India.
Engineer also expressed his dismay over wicketkeepers being selected more for their batting ability.
"A wicketkeeper should be primarily a wicketkeeper. But nowadays batsmen who can catch the ball are selected as keepers, which is wrong. It is a specialist job," he said.
Talking about the various aspects of cricket, Engineer described Test cricket as the pinnacle but also welcomed the shorter formats of the game.
"Test cricket is a like a game of chess throughout intriguing. It is the pinnacle of cricket. All other formats are welcome. Of course, limited over cricket especially Twenty20 cricket has been highly successful but nothing can match Test cricket," added Engineer.