Former India captain Rahul Dravid acknowledged MS Dhoni's astute leadership as one of the biggest reasons behind Chennai Super Kings (CSK) being among the most successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dravid, speaking at a webinar hosted by the 'Great Lakes Institute of Management', said it's incredible how CSK as a franchise set-up has been able to blend Dhoni's feel for the game and his "instincts" with data intelligence to win three titles and reach multiple finals in ten campaigns.
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"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," said Dravid.
"They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts. So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics," he added.
Apart from his amazing understanding of the game, what has stood apart about Dhoni's captaincy is his clear plans and communication with his players on and off the field. Dhoni reads the play better than most people, maintains consistency with regards to team selection, knows when to pull the strings and go on attacking. His maturity is second to none.
"He's probably not going to get as involved in the auction process because when you're looking at picking a squad of say 25 players or 28 players as CSK would, they need so much of information because there are so many players that they can pick from," said Dravid.
"They are probably not going to have the ability to see each and everyone of the thousands of cricketers who play cricket in India and the overseas players, right? So, you're going to heavily rely on data and whatever metrics you put up. And, I think, the right metrics is critical because obviously, CSK does that when assembling a squad."
"Then, what you do is once you've handed over the squad to the coach and to captain on the field, it's critically important to have somebody with instincts and get the better of it, which obviously Dhoni is good at," he stressed.
Dravid said CSK has benefitted a lot with Dhoni reducing their reliance on historical data.
"In the heat of the battle, you have your analysis, you got your coach and you've probably planned the game. But there are critical moments in a game, especially in a Twenty20 game, when every over matters. You can't rely on data all the time… because you collect it from a past event."
"But, on that particular day, he [the player] might not be feeling very well or the captain might have noticed that his form is not good on that particular moment. That's where instinct comes in and ability to read the game, which Dhoni clearly has," he concluded.
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
