Sri Lanka cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan praised Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni, under whom he played three IPL seasons. He was also part of CSK's IPL winning squad in 2010 and observed Dhoni's captaincy from close quarters.
Talking about his experience of playing with Dhoni, Murali told R Ashwin on his YouTube channel that the CSK captain always encourages his bowler. Muralitharan likes the way Dhoni appreciates his bowlers from behind for good delivery, no matter if the delivery gets smashed for a six.
“He will clap if a good ball gets hit for a six. He will tell the bowler that it’s a good ball even if the batsman had hit you for a six. Batsmen too have the talent,” he told Ashwin.
Muttiah said always working on the plan with the bowler is what makes Dhoni a successful skipper. “So with those kinds of appreciations, he will call you alone to tell you what’s needed, instead of doing it in public. Because of those qualities, he has been a successful captain,” the 48-year old said.
Adding another superb quality of Dhoni which makes Muralitharan laud the World Cup-winning India captain, he said, “Definitely he was a young captain, I would say. It was in the 2007 World Cup that he captained and won. But his theories are very nice to see. Because he will give the ball to the bowler and tell him to set the field and bowl. If it wasn’t working, then he would ask them to give a chance to the field he sets."
