Ex-India head coach Greg Chappell rates MS Dhoni greatly as a captain. He named him in the list of great captains which has the likes of Clive Lloyd, Mike Brearley, Ian Chappell and Mark Taylor in it. 

Former Australia captain himself, Chappell feels Dhoni is one of the most influential leaders of world cricket in the last 50 years. He has seen him rising after India's World Cup 2007 defeat.

“In my opinion, he is the best Indian captain that I have seen and I would put him in the highest bracket of captains and leaders in the game in my experience. He is up there with Michael Brearley, Ian Chappell, Mark Taylor, and Clive Lloyd as the most inspirational captains of the past 50 years,” Chappell told IANS.

Dhoni quit India's limited-overs captaincy in 2017, but he had already achieved a lot before handing over the reins to Virat Kohli. Chappell said his ability to stay different from his peers came because of his high confidence. 

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“The outstanding feature was his self-belief. He stood out amongst his peers with his confidence and his directness. MS was not interested in ‘games’. He liked to be dealt with in a direct way and he responded in kind,” Chappell added.

The 39-year-old was crystal clear in his decisions and always backed himself. “My experience with Dhoni the cricketer and Dhoni the person were positive. He was very easy to work with because he was open and forthright. There was no false modesty with Dhoni; if he thought he could do something, he was confident enough to say that he could.

“I enjoyed Dhoni’s humor and cheeky manner. He was a good competitor who loved a challenge. I enjoyed challenging him to be the best player that he could be.

“He exceeded any expectations that I had and he may have exceeded his own expectations. It is a great credit to him that he utilized his immense skills to become one of the great all-rounders of his era and an inspirational leader,” Chappell added.

Apart from international cricket, Dhoni has also proved his worth as a captain in the Indian Premier League. He will lead Chennai Super Kings once again in the IPL 2020.

(With IANS Inputs)