ICC World Cup 2019: Sangakkara believes Dhoni's experience will help captain Kohli

What's the story?

Kumar Sangakkara has backed MS Dhoni's possible inclusion in the World Cup squad and claimed that his presence would be pretty helpful to skipper Virat Kohli. According to the former Sri Lanka captain, experience holds key in the premier cricketing event.

In case you didn't know...

In recent times, MS Dhoni's age and failures with the bat had drawn mixed opinions from the fraternity, as many opined that the wicket-keeper's career might have been more than dusted.

These beliefs were further fueled with the emergence of Rishabh Pant in the international circuit and Dinesh Karthik's performances for the national side at number 6. However, Dhoni put his critics to bed with a hat-trick of half-centuries in the ODI series against Australia. With that, he also took away the player of the series accolade.

And even though age might not be on his side, Dhoni is still one of the wisest and sharpest minds around in world cricket. More so, his presence probably remains a priceless asset in the dressing room.

The heart of the matter

The Lankan legend, Kumar Sangakkara on Tuesday mentioned that Dhoni's experience is invaluable for India, as he, like many others, believes there's more to India's 2011 World Cup-winning captain's game than just batting. As quoted by India Today, he said:

“When it comes to a World Cup, experience counts a lot. Not just experience but that is close to its best. I think MS Dhoni will definitely find a place in that World Cup 15 for India."

The 41-year-old added that Virat Kohli would get a lot of help with Dhoni around, remarking:

“Also I think with his experience, Virat will want to have a very cool head on the field, if push comes to shove when they are in a tight situation in a World Cup."

What's next?

India finished the Australian and New Zealand assignments on top. They will next play a home series against Australia later this month, with the first of two T20Is starting on 24 February. Australia's tour of India will finish with a five-match ODI series.