IPL 2020: MS Dhoni is very smart captain when it comes to net run rate, says Pragyan Ojha

Ojha also spoke about Virat Kohli's tactics against DC.

MS Dhoni is currently leading CSK in the IPL 13 | CSK Twitter

Legendary India cricketer and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni is one of the greatest ever cricket captains who blessed with a different kind of technical knowledge when it comes to leadership apart from his wicket-keeping and finishing skills.

There is no wonder why he is the most successful captain in the Indian cricket history apart from being one of the greatest ever finisher the game has ever seen but former India spinner Pragyan Ojha was in awe for Dhoni of his different ability as captain.

Ojha believes that Dhoni is extremely smart when it comes to aspects such as maintaining the net run rate during the tournament including the Indian Premier League (IPL). He also suggested other IPL captains learn from CSK captain when it comes to keeping the NRR in mind.

Read Also: IPL 2020: WATCH - MS Dhoni mimics Chris Gayle's walking style in front of him

CSK is one of the most successful teams in the IPL history having won the titles thrice in 2010, 2011, and 2018 while the franchise has been also the finalists five other times, as well as, played in the playoffs in every season of the tournament except the suspension period.

In the later stages of the IPL, the net run rate always play a significant role in the team’s future in the tournament and Ojha cited the example of last season when three teams were tied on 12 points for the 4th playoff spot and SRH made it because of its high NRR in the IPL 2019.

Ojha said at Sports Today: “It is always about being street smart. Keeping all your senses alert [to the situation]. You hear MS Dhoni say, ‘when you are losing and it is very difficult to win, try and get closer’.”

The former cricketer further added, “You know this net run rate doesn’t affect you immediately, but in the later stage when you badly need it to go your way, that’s when you realise that we could have done a lot of things initially to have a better NRR.”

Meanwhile, he wasn’t pleased with Virat Kohli’s tactics to play risky shots during RCB’s loss to DC in the ongoing IPL 2020, saying he should have tried to get his team closer to the target.

He signed off by saying, “If I was Virat Kohli, I would have just batted. I would have cut down those risk shots because I know that we are out of that game. Three overs of [Kagiso] Rabada, two overs of [Ravichandran] Ashwin were left, and it was impossible to get 15 runs out of every over. So, I would have got closer to the target,”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 07 Oct, 2020

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