The Indian ODI and T20I teams for the upcoming series against England has an eclectic mix of youth and experience. While Yuvraj Singh, who is closing in on 300 ODI matches makes a return, exciting young talent, Rishabh Pant has earned his maiden India call-up. The series will also mark the beginning of Virat Kohli as India’s full-time captain in the limited-overs format after MS Dhoni decided to step down. The ODI series against England is India’s only 50-over assignment before the ICC Champions Trophy in England. With the change in leadership, we at BCCI.TV, spoke with MSK Prasad, chairman of the national selection committee about the roadmap ahead for Indian cricket. When a successful leader quits, it tends to create leadership vacuum. But that won’t be the case with Indian team since Virat Kohli has been leading the Test team admirably apart from leading India in 17 ODIs. How do you see MS Dhoni handing over the reigns to Virat in the limited-overs format too? For Mahi (Dhoni), it is the country's interest that comes ahead of his personal interest. He would have done enough analysis and felt that Virat is the right man to lead. He is going to continue and that is the best thing to have happened. He will definitely mentor Virat and see to it that he becomes one of the best captains. Both on and off the field, he can play a big role in mentoring Virat. When he conveyed his decision to the BCCI, you were present in Nagpur during Jharkhand’s semi-final game. What was the discussion you had with him? He is a true servant of the nation and the game. His talks revolve around topics like passion, commitment, integrity and patriotism. India are very fortunate to have someone like him represent them. He is a brand ambassador of Indian cricket. He stayed with the boys, mentored them and had team meetings. There is a thin line between emotion and profession and he has taken a professional call. He has taken the decision in the larger interest of the country and we must respect that. Now that Virat is full-time ODI and T20I captain, where do you see this team heading in the limited-overs format? Our target is to reach No. 1 in all three formats. We have done very well in Tests and are not too far away in ODIs (Rank 3) and T20Is (Rank 2). We have a clear-cut plan and are working towards it. We have enough plans for the period from the ICC Champions Trophy (June 2017) till the 2019 World Cup. We have close to 55 ODIs and we will make sure that those who play the 2019 World Cup, have enough experience before they play in the marquee event. In the Test series against England, we saw India’s bench strength coming to the fore. The youngsters did not take too long to adjust to international cricket. We have to credit the BCCI for having managed to bridge the gap between domestic, India A and international level. We must appreciate the concept of India A tours. The selectors have slowly inducted the youngsters into the Indian team. Both Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble are doing a fantastic job. You cannot have a better person than Rahul to guide the youngsters. Rahul has an enormous amount of experience and a youngster is going to benefit immensely. Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Shahbaz Nadeem have been recognized for their performances in domestic cricket and included in India A and the national team. Are the selectors looking at a bigger pool of players for the shorter formats too? Of the teams that play international cricket, most have very few first-class teams. In India, we have 28 first-class teams. When we have so many teams, we should have enough bench strength. The volume of players we have, the talent and potential we have, we need to keep our bench strength ready. What we need to do is rotate our players. If we can't recognize the performances in domestic cricket, the intensity of domestic players will come down. Those who do not play in the IPL, may feel let down if their performance is not recognized. We have discussed this as selectors. We need to identify performers across the 28 teams and then groom them. With more India A tours, we will have more quality players.