Gary gave us freedom: Dhoni

Gary Kirsten may well have coached an Indian Test side for the last time. India are not scheduled to play a Test until their tour to England later this year. Kirsten's contract as India coach expires after the World Cup, which he isn't expected to renew despite popular demand from the players.

"We have had a fantastic time under him. The way he came into the set-up, and eased in was quite remarkable. It is important to understand that he didn't know much about Indian cricket, about the dressing room atmosphere, and so on. He gave us a lot of freedom and a lot of credit goes to him for our rise to No 1 in Test rankings," Dhoni told reporters yesterday. Dhoni added that one of the features of Kirsten has been his reluctance stay away from the media. "He did really well in that regard. Indian coaches of the past have done exactly the opposite. Every member of theu00a0 Indian team, and the support staff loves him, acknowledges him, and respects the amount of devotion he has given us. If he does leave, we will miss him a lot," Dhoni signed off.