It has been almost a year since MS Dhoni last played any form of competitive cricket. The World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand at Old Trafford was his last appearance in Team India colours.

In a bid to stake claim for a place in the national squad for T20 World Cup, the veteran campaigner was set to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) but the COVID-19 outbreak forced the BCCI to suspend the cash-rich event indefinitely.

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Amid the speculations on his cricket future, former India coach Gary Kirsten on Thursday (May 28) said Dhoni has earned the right to leave the game on his own terms.

“MS (Dhoni) is an incredible cricketer. Intelligence, calmness, power, athleticism, speed and a match-winner separate him from others and puts him amongst the greatest sportsmen in the modern era,” Kirsten told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview.

“He (Dhoni) has earned the right to leave the game on his own terms and no one should dictate to him when that time is," he added.

Kirsten and Dhoni were at the helm of affairs when India lifted the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

As soon as skipper Dhoni hit the winning six off Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara, most of the Indian players went numb with some of them even shedding tears.

The triumph was special as it came after 28 years for Team India and Kirsten remembers the entire campaign vividly.

“It was a fantastic journey with the players and very fond memories of the World Cup. There were a lot of expectations from the players to win the World Cup and they handled it incredibly well,” the former South Africa opener said.

After Dhoni relinquished the captaincy duties, Virat Kohli succeeded him across the three formats of the game.

Commenting on the captaincy style of Kohli and Dhoni, Kirsten said: “It’s very different but equally effective for the Indian team".