Former World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev has lauded MS Dhoni’s contributions and believes that the veteran wicketkeeper has been the greatest servant Indian cricket has ever seen.

Dhoni is set to embark on what is in all likelihood his final ICC World Cup appearance when the showpiece event gets underway in England at the end of May this year. Now 37, Dhoni had become the second Indian skipper after Kapil Dev to lift the World Cup when he oversaw the Men in Blue’s triumph over Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 edition held at Mumbai.

Apart from the 50-over world title, Dhoni also led India to victory in the maiden ICC World Twenty20 competition held in South Africa in 2007.

The veteran wicketkeeper had endured a lean 2018 with the bat in limited-overs cricket which had invited plenty of criticism and question marks over his place in the ODI side from pundits and former players.

Kapil Dev, who led India to their maiden World Cup title in 1983, feels that Dhoni’s contributions speak for themselves.

Dhoni had faced plenty of criticism for his form last year.

“I don’t have to say anything about Dhoni. I think he has served the country very well and we must respect him,” the India legend told IANS.

“No one knows how long he wants to play and how long his body can continue to take the workload. But, there is no other cricketer who has served the country so well as Dhoni. We should respect him and wish him good luck. I hope that he wins this World Cup too,” he added.

The former India skipper also commented on Rishabh Pant’s omission from India’s 15-man 2019 World Cup squad with Dinesh Karthik being preferred instead of him.

“The selectors have done their job. Let’s respect the team. They have picked Karthik over Pant, then it’s alright. We should just believe that the selectors have done a good job,” Kapil Dev said.