As India and South Africa prepare to take on each other in the first ODI at Kingsmead, Durban on Thursday, all eyes will be once again on MS Dhoni who wasn't part of the Test series which India lost to South Africa by a margin of 2-1.

Dhoni, who now features only in the shorter formats and even at the age of 36 continues to be one of the fittest players on the international circuit. His wicket-keeping skills remain of the highest quality while his batting has changed with time and now he plays the sheet anchor role to perfection in Virat Kohli's team.

Dhoni also plays a major role in decision making as far as DRS goes and Kohli doesn't hesitate to go upto his former captain for his advice and reading of the game. At times when Kohli patrols the boundary, Dhoni takes over to set the field for the bowler in the inner circle. 

Taking all these factors into consideration, Virat Kohli will feel much happier to have the support of MS Dhoni on the field tomorrow after being in the line of fire all by himself on this tour during the Test series. India will be eyeing a winning start to the ODI series after finishing off the Test series with one of their finest wins overseas on a difficult wicket which was rated 'poor' by ICC.

India's one-day specialists haven't had the luxury of a warm-up match like the Test specialists, hence they had to make the most of their net sessions before the first match. It remains to be seen whether two days of practice will be enough for the one-day specialists to hit form right away in the ODI series.

Here is a video of MS Dhoni at the nets today which was shared by BCCI on their twitter account: