Impressed by the changed leadership style of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former skipper Sunil Gavaskar today said that the Jharkhand dasher should continue as India's captain till the 2019 World Cup.
Gavaskar feels that Dhoni has changed his captaincy approach after the debacle against Australia and England and he was now a much-more assertive leader on the field.
"The one month he had after the home series loss against England had given him time for introspection. He has changed positively as a captain. Now, if a player is not attentive and not upto the mark, Dhoni is letting him know. He is not making too many gestures but he is making the player know that he (Dhoni) is not happy," Gavaskar said.
"He is very fit and in great batting form. With the changed leadership approach I think he should not be disturbed till the 2019 World Cup. We should not even discuss it (of changing captaincy)," said Gavaskar when asked if Dhoni's form and inspiring captaincy in the ongoing Test series against Australia has given him a breathing space after the recent string of losses.
Gavaskar, who had recently said after the home series against England that Dhoni should take a break from captaincy, however, said that it's upto the India skipper to decide whether to play till 2019.
"I don't know whether he would play till 2019 considering his age by that time. I am saying he can play till 2019 but it's upto him to decide on this," he said.
"During the England series I thought he needed a break from cricket. India were not doing anything against England, the players were just meandering and the bowling changes when England were batting were defensive. But now I think Dhoni has recharged and he is in great batting form though he needs to tighten up a bit in his wicket-keeping," Gavaskar told NDTV.
