Ranchi: Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has revealed why he quit as India’s ODI and T20I skipper in January 2017.

Dhoni retired from Tests in December 2014 but continues to play limited overs formats for the country. He gave up captaincy last year and the selectors chose Virat Kohli as his successor.

Now, Dhoni has said he stepped down from limited overs leadership to give Kohli enough time to prepare the team for 2019 World Cup in England.

“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 37-year-old was quoted as saying by Deccan Chronicle.

Dhoni was speaking at Ranchi's Birsa Munda airport on a motivational event conducted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

"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,” the wicketkeeper-batsman added.

On India’s 1-4 Test series rout in England, Dhoni said Indian batsmen struggled because they did not have enough practice games before the five-match rubber.

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

Dhoni will be seen in action at the Asia Cup in United Arab Emirates (UAE), starting on September 15. The Indian team will be led by Rohit Sharma as the selectors have rested Kohli.