Justin Langer paid a fitting tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni by hailing him as a superstar, who is also an all-time great in limited overs cricket, after his masterful knock of 87* that helped India chase down 231 runs in Melbourne and win the three-match ODI series against Australia, 2-1.
The great man was later awarded Player-of-the-Series for his 193 runs including three solid half-centuries, as well.
Experience of watching him for probably the last time down under has left Langer is awe of Dhoni and he expects his currently struggling side to follow the legend's ways.
“He (Dhoni) is 37 years old. His running between the wickets is elite, and his fitness is elite. For him to run between the wickets for three days in a row, it was 40 degrees the other day, and play like that, he is a superstar of the game and that’s what Australians should be aspiring to be -- superstars of the game," Langer said during the post-match press conference on Friday, January 18.
"MS Dhoni, like Virat Kohli, like Cheteshwar Pujara in the Test series, they give us really great role models. MS Dhoni, his record, everything speaks for itself as a captain, batsman, wicketkeeper. He is literally an all-time great of the game and it has been, as hard as it is to lose, a privilege to play against those guys."
But Langer also rued the missed chances from Australia as Glenn Maxwell and captain Aaron Finch dropped an in-form MS Dhoni for 0 and 74 respectively despite their team not having too many runs to play with.
"You drop MS Dhoni a couple of times and you don’t win. You don’t give great players chances. We did that tonight. We get down the 49th over and MS is there again," he added, "It was a great lesson for our squad. We talk about match winners, getting the job done -- he showed us again. It is a great tutorial for our batters."
"If MS Dhoni can come out and run between wickets like that after keeping wickets for 50 overs, that is the level the whole world should be aspiring to."
"I would be amazed if they (Australian players) don’t learn from playing against those guys. For a young squad, there is no better lesson and learning to rub shoulders with great players. I’m glad we have had the experience," Langer concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
