MS Dhoni is among the few cricketers who are praised both on and off the field. While he is one the best captains India ever had, fans also laud Dhoni’s down-to-earth nature. Not only the fans, in fact, Dhoni’s former and current teammates also keep sharing the unheard tales of his kindness. Of late, former India pacer S Sreesath lavished praise on the character of Dhoni and said that the player is among those who never take credit of the good work they do.
“MS Dhoni would never say he made Rohit Sharma’s career. I know him really well. We can say that because Dhoni gave him an opportunity. Why did he give him an opportunity? Because he knew that at that number he will do well. Be it Raina, Virat or Ashwin for that matter,” Sresanth told Sportskeeda.
“Mahi bhai has played a big role even in my career, everybody’s career. Nobody can change that. But why did he do that? Because he knew that if he supports those players, they will go to the next level. Maybe he gave the support to us that he himself didn’t get,” he added.
Former India captain Dhoni continues to inspire upcoming generation of cricketers. Having achieved almost everything as a player and a captain, Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in August 2020, remains down to earth on and off the field.
The 42-year-old is India’s one of the great captains, having led the team to three major ICC triumphs.
Under him, India won the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Overall, he led India in 332 matches, the most by a captain in international cricket. Out of these, he won 178, lost 120, tied six and 15 ended in a no-result. His win percentage as a captain is 53.61. This combined with the trophies he has won, makes him India’s most successful captain ever.
In these 332 matches, he scored 11,207 runs in 330 innings at an average of 46.89 and a strike rate of over 76. He scored 11 centuries and 71 fifties as a captain, with the best score of 224. Safe to say, the burden of captaincy did not affect MS at all.
His success at the international level spilled over to franchise cricket as well. He represented and led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rising Pune Supergiant (RPG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhoni won five IPL titles with CSK in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. He also won two Champions League T20 titles with CSK in 2010 and 2014.
(With ANI Inputs)
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