Graeme Smith says MS Dhoni got on with everyone; Sangakkara praises Ganguly's knowledge of the game

Both former captains were full of praise for Dhoni and Ganguly.

MS Dhoni is widely regarded as one of the most gentlemen cricketers in the world. His smiling face, calm demeanor, and tendency to not show anger on camera made him an extremely likable person and this was confirmed by former South Africa captain Graeme Smith.

Smith, now the chief of Cricket South Africa lauded Dhoni for his calmness and his ability to do business with anyone. "I seriously doubt that you probably find anyone in world cricket that didn't get on with MS. He went about his business. He was calm, he was collected," Smith said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

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Smith was also full of praise for former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who celebrated his birthday on July 8. "And again, like Sangakkara, was to spend a fair amount of time with Dada? In administration, we are having a number of conversations over the telephone. He's always calm, approachable, always interested in a good conversation, so a lot of respect for both men,” Smith said.

Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara, who was with Smith on the show, also had only good words to say about two of the most successful Indian captains ever in Ganguly and Dhoni. "He (Dhoni) did come home in Colombo for a meal with Yuvraj (Singh) one night. We had a great chat. He was very approachable as a person," said Sangakkara about his 2011 World Cup final opposite captain.

"I did get to know Dada quite well over the years. I really enjoyed speaking to Dada on everything, Test cricket...playing cricket, captaincy...I think Dada I got to know a lot more intimately," the former Sri Lanka captain added.

(IANS inputs)