MS Dhoni’s achievement as a cricketer is remarkable, to say the least. Starting his journey from the small town of Ranchi, Dhoni didn’t only prove his mettle with the bat but also etched his name in the history books as one of India’s finest leaders.
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Team India tasted huge success under his captaincy, winning the 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. The veteran campaigner also led India to the pinnacle in Test cricket.
Acknowledging his cricketing achievements, former opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday (April 19) said Dhoni changed the power dynamics in Indian cricket.
Srikkanth believes before Dhoni's arrival in the national side, Indian cricket was majorly dominated by the metro cities as players from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai used to be regular members of the squad.
"When somebody like Dhoni made it to the national side, the powerhouses of Indian cricket started to change, a cricketer from Ranchi was a masterstroke, a zonal selector was watching cricket in the east and he saw something really special in Dhoni. He did not do something substantial in his first two matches and people wrote him off. But he played a 140 odd knock against Pakistan and it made Dhoni really confident," Srikkanth quoted as saying by ANI.
"Post Dhoni era, we have seen a lot of players from small towns making the cut. This legacy will be very huge and it is a testament to Dhoni. The team was handed over in the right way to Virat," he added.
After taking over the white-ball captaincy, Dhoni had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was performing the job in the longest format.
Srikkanth reckons playing under Kumble made Dhoni understand the virtues of leadership.
"When Dhoni was the captain in the 2007 T20 World Cup, he handled the side really well, the win boosted his confidence. He has always been calm and cool, he has motivated the players, aggressive culture was brought in by Sourav Ganguly, MS was totally opposite of that, when Kumble was the captain of the Test side, it was a good chance for Dhoni to learn. Anil gave him much-needed experience, Dhoni gave a lot of confidence to the players," he opined.
MS Dhoni retired from Tests midway during a four-match series in Australia as early as December 2014. However, he stayed on as the captain of the limited-overs team before stepping down in 2017.
Dhoni, who has been away from competitive cricket since India’s ouster from the World Cup 2019, was set to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in this year’s IPL, in a bid to stake claim for a place in the national squad for T20 World Cup.
But now with the IPL 2020 being postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 outbreak, his cricket future has once again become a topic of debate.
(With ANI inputs)
