Pakistan's head coach Misbah Ul Haq said MS Dhoni was responsible for a cultural shift in Indian cricket in a very significant period as captain at the highest level.

Dhoni brought India laurels in the form of 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 50-over World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy, apart from taking the side to No.1 in the ICC Test rankings. But his contribution went beyond that. 

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Dhoni brought calmness and stability to India of the kind Misbah, as former captain himself, must've envied in Pakistan cricket. 

"He was such a cool captain on the outside, but from the inside such an aggressive player," Misbah told AFP as Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket this Saturday (August 15). 

"He was such a 'shrewd', you could say, captain -- the way he handled the team, the way he just developed the team and changed the team from seniors (senior players), brought up some juniors. He changed the whole culture of the team, the whole face of Indian cricket - a wonderful servant of the game."

"One of the greats I think, the way he changed the approach and especially he achieved so much for Indian cricket, winning the World Cup, winning the Champions Trophy, winning the T20 World Cup. He's got all the trophies in his bag," added Misbah, who was part of one of Dhoni's most unforgettable moments when his mistimed scoop gave India victory in the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa all those years back. 

Misbah stressed the fact that Dhoni took India to great heights, continuing the excellent groundwork laid by Sourav Ganguly, under whom he made his debut in 2004.

"He was the one name who really took Indian cricket from wherever Sourav left the team and then from there on he did wonders for Indian cricket," said Misbah. "Such a wonderful person and a very, very good captain."