Dhoni's experience will be key for India at World Cup 2019, says Clarke.
Michael Clarke on Friday (January 18) lavished praise on MS Dhoni following his Man of the Series show in the just-concluded One Day International series in Australia, saying the India wicketkeeper has matured with age and has gone from being a Lamborghini to an Aston Martin.
On Friday, Dhoni was adjudged Man of the Series award for his brilliant show in the three-match ODI series against Australia, amassing 193 runs in the series, and became the oldest Indian to win the award in ODIs. With the three fifties on the trot, Dhoni was instrumental in India’s historic win in Australia.
Clarke’s comment came after Dhoni cracked an unbeaten 87 in a tricky chase of 231 in the series decider at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as well as, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman stitched an unbeaten 121-run stand with Kedar Jadhav (61*) after a rare failure from Captain Virat Kohli to help India to cross the line by 7 wickets to win the series 2-1 against Australia.
Following the match at MCG, Clarke told Sony Six on Friday, “He [Dhoni] has gone from a Lamborghini to an Aston Martin. He is still unbelievable. There is an adjustment. He is more experienced now, he knows his game better now.”
Former Australia skipper continued, “He acknowledges his partner at the other end more now. When MS Dhoni started, he didn't need a partner irrelevant of whether his partner got a duck, scored a fifty or a century if they needed 50 off 20 balls, the partner's job was to get MS Dhoni on strike. Now he knows how important it is for his partner to be able to find that boundary and lead up to MS Dhoni pressing gold. He's had that in the last two games.”
Meanwhile, the commentator also insisted that Dhoni’s role in the Indian set-up is big and the former skipper is a key to India's chances in the World Cup 2019.
He added, “It's a great sign for India cricket. Robin and I were talking about MS Dhoni's leadership skills and how it helps Virat Kohli out and how important it's going to be at the World Cup.”
Clarke signed off by saying, “It's no different from Ricky Ponting. When he stood down as the captain, we all wanted Ricky Ponting to stay around the group because his leadership, his talks about training, his experience helped the team so much and my leadership. I think MS Dhoni's role in this team is just as big when he was captain of India. It's just a little different now.”
(With Sony Six Inputs)