MS Dhoni reveals why he stepped down as India's limited-overs captain

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Ranchi, September 13: Around 21 months after he stepped down as the captain of the Indian cricket team, MS Dhoni has explained why he took the decision to quit as India captain.

"I resigned from captaincy because I wanted the new captain to get enough time for preparing a team before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019," the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman was quoted as saying by the Deccan Chronicle.

"Selecting a strong team without giving the new captain appropriate time isn't possible. I believe that I left the captaincy at the right time," Dhoni added.

Dhoni, who happens to be the most successful Indian skipper across all the formats and only captain to have won all three ICC trophies, decided to make way for his successor Virat Kohli just ahead of the limited-overs series against England in January last year.

India went on to win defeat England under Kohli but the Delhi cricketer hailed the contribution of Dhoni which greatly helped him in the early days of his captaincy.

When asked about Team India's series defeat at the hands of a lower-ranked England cricket team, Dhoni pointed towards the lack of practice matches prior to the start of the series as one of the reasons for batting failures.

"Indian team missed out on playing practices matches before the series, which is why the batsmen are finding it difficult to adjust," he said. "This is a part of game. We shouldn't forget that India is currently No 1 in the rankings," he added.

Dhoni has left for Dubai with his limited-overs teammates for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018.