One of the most loved and scrutinised cricketers to have ever been born in India - Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the perfect story for every small town boy/girl who wants to make it big in life. Hailing from the cricketing backwaters - Jharkhand, Dhoni is unarguably the second most popular player in the cricket frenzy nation after 'God' Sachin Tendulkar. Going by the statistics, Dhoni is India's most successful captain and under his leadership, India have won the top prize in all formats of the gentlemen's game - the inaugural World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007, No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, and the 50-over World Cup in 2011 in Mumbai. He is also the first captain in the world to win three different ICC trophies. Dhoni also led India to a memorable 2013 Champions Trophy triumph in England. During his now more than 14-years long international career, Dhoni has played an integral part in many of India's famous victories. For his impressive match-winning skills, the veteran batsman has also been christened with the tag of 'one of the best finishers in the sport', especially in the limited-overs format. However, with age catching up - Dhoni's batting abilities are on the wane but his electric reflexes and impeccable instincts behind the stumps still make him an indispensable asset to Team India. With the countdown of the 2019 ICC World Cup already started, India still needs the services of one of its biggest stalwarts who is responsible for taking the team to insurmountable heights.
Read MoreThe IPL has been made possible by the ICC's decision to postpone the October-November T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the COVID-19 pandemic
MS Dhoni is set to return to cricketing action with the IPL, which is set to be staged in the UAE between September 19-November 8.
With two needed on the final ball during the 2011 Mumbai Test against West Indies, Ashwin was run-out as the match ended in a draw with scores level.
It would be wrong to point out which captain gave how many match-winners to Team India. Both are legends of the game, both had different challenges ahead of them and both overcame them like leaders do, ultimately contributing towards the team.
Joy Bhattacharya, former Kolkata Knight Riders Team Director, revealed how Ganguly described Dhoni to him during his debut series in 2004 against Bangladesh.
Parthiv opined that Ganguly took over the captaincy responsibility during a time when Indian cricket was in a turmoil and from there on built a team that would win away matches.
Yuzvendra Chahal recalled the instances where MS Dhoni's advice helped him trick batsmen.
Recalling the incident, Kirsten said that it was the Dhoni's loyalty which made him one of "the most impressive people" he met.
During his illustrious career, Hussey played under some of the greats of the game like Ricky Ponting, MS Dhoni, Michael Clarke and Rohit Sharma.
Smith and Sangakkara picked Ganguly over Dhoni when it comes to Test cricket but both agreed that Dhoni is the man in white-ball formats.
Pant reckoned that with Dhoni, the task is easier given that all he needs is to follow the veteran's instructions, although he does regret not getting enough opportunities to bat with him.
Gambhir felt that apart from Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, when Dhoni's captaincy tenure ended there weren't enough quality players in the team that could win the team an ICC tournament.
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth it was a very difficult comparison as he feels Ganguly was fantastic in 2001 Test series against Australia.
Former India captains Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly celebrated their birthdays earlier this week. Smith also spoke about BCCI President Ganguly.
Gautam Gambhir recalled the memory when he shared the room with Dhoni during their early days in international cricket.
Gambhir opined that Sourav Ganguly had to work hard to assemble a side to win trophies and Dhoni reaped the benefits of his predecessor to win the three ICC titles.
Subramaniam Badrinath also talked about the speculations surrounding MS Dhoni's future in the Indian team.
Aakash said that RCB have failed to lift the IPL trophy because of the poor selection during the auction, and not just in a single auction, but over the years.
The pain was visible in Dhoni's eyes when he was walking back to the pavilion and there was pin-drop silence in the crowd. The Indian dug-out was in shock as everyone knew that the World Cup trophy has now slipped away from Team India's hands.
Dhoni last played for India in their World Cup 2019 semifinal exit against New Zealand, which was almost a year back
Top News
Trending News
Latest News