Cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Holding liked the way how former India captain MS Dhoni-led his teams. No matter which team Dhoni captained, his captaincy style was praised by many greats of the game and Holding is one of his admirers.
Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 and since then, fans and cricket pundits paid tribute to him. They talked about his achievements and impact on Indian cricket.
Holding also shared a video on his YouTube channel and said, “When he was captaining, you never saw him get excited. If things seemed to be slipping, he would call his players, have a chat calmly, and then they would go back to wherever they were and things would automatically change, that was the kind of influence he had."
Dhoni's Test career is not talked much, but Holding did mention it considering him as a wicket-keeper batsman.
“What a career this man had, a fantastic one. He played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs, and of course lots of T20s (98 for India and 190 in IPL). But let’s talk about Test and ODIs. This man made almost 5000 Test runs and remember, he’s not a pure batsman, he’s a wicketkeeper. Over such a long career to be able to keep wickets and do such a fantastic job is commendable,” he said.
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Holding is impressed with the 39-year-old fitness. Dhoni will still continue to play cricket in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings.
“Not just in Test, think about the ODIs. To be bending down for so many years, keeping himself fit through all these years... He has close to 11 thousand runs in ODIs and after facing just about 12 thousand balls that means he’s scoring almost at a run-a-ball throughout his career. Of course in some matches, we know he has scored."
The former West Indies cricketer also talked about Dhoni's powerful striking and how he used to fill the opposition with fear during his initial days.
“Throughout his career, he hit 229 sixes (in ODIs). When you think of those numbers you must be thinking he must have played for 40 years to have hit so many sixes and fours. But that is the nature of the man.
“When Dhoni first started to play ODIs for India that long flowing locks that we call it in the Caribbean, he looked like a maverick. He looked like someone who came out there just to destroy whatever comes in front of him and he pretty much did that,” Holding added.
Continuing the praise, Holding didn't miss out on mentioning the ICC trophies. “What a captain he was, how successful he was. He won all the ICC trophies that are available.
"When Dhoni first started, he was big-hitter, that’s why he hit so many fours and sixes. As he grew some grey around his temple area then he had to tone it down a bit and he was lot more controlled with his batting. Anyone watching MS Dhoni in the middle would know he was always in control, unflappable, never ever he looked out of control,” he added.
