India beat world champions Australia 2-0 in the finals earlier this month after the selectors pitched for youth at Dhoni's behest and controversially dropped former captain Ganguly despite the left-hander's consistency at test level.

Ganguly and Dravid, who was the first to feel the heat of the one-day shake-up late last year, are two of just three Indians to score over 10,000 runs in one-day cricket.

"I was pretty clear about the players I wanted in the side," Dhoni told Cricinfo web site."That's what I said to the selectors as well. You can see the kind of team I got."

The axing of Ganguly and Dravid set off a nation-wide debate in cricket-mad India given the challenge of playing in Australia.

"It's very important because the process and the timing were criticised a lot," Dhoni said. "But sometimes it is very important to send the message across, because sometimes people neglect the answer."

Dhoni, 26, was made one-day captain after Dravid quit following the England tour in September last year and guided a young team to a surprise triumph at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.

Dhoni said he had asked his players in Australia to stand up with questions being raised about his team selection.