Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey has hailed former Indian skipper and leader of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), MS Dhoni, as the greatest finisher of all-time. The Western Australian, who had been a critical member of CSK’s title-winning teams, revealed that Dhoni’s unbelievable power and self-belief makes him the pre-eminent cricketer.
“Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced,” Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo’s Videocast.
Hussey stated that Dhoni keeps his cool and knows when he needs to hit the maximums in the game.
“Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn’t have that kind of belief in myself,” added Hussey.
Hussey expressed that he learned a lot from Dhoni, especially when it comes to chasing. At nerve situations, Dhoni’s calmness and ability to take the game deep helps the side, and it puts pressure on the bowlers.
“I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over. And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well.”
Hussey also compared Dhoni with his former teammate and skipper Ricky Ponting saying both the leaders had belief in themselves and didn’t let a loss or a win affect their tendency of captaincy.
“They don’t hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don’t let a loss or a win hamper their thinking. They are always consistent, and level headed whether it’s MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting.”
The 2011 world cup winning skipper was supposed to showcase his magic in IPL 2020, but due to Coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was forced to suspend the 13th season of the lucrative league.
