MS Dhoni, in his illustrious tenure as an Indian captain, has taken gazillions of revolutionary decisions and laid down a generational philosophy upon which his successor Virat Kohli has built an unparalleled mansion.
Unlike what the conventional wisdom suggests, Dhoni’s stature and importance in Team India didn’t fade with time even in his post-captaincy era. His role from a captain who took charges of things has been changed; his influence standstills the same.
In the post-leadership days of his career, Dhoni was more like a wise old sage, a one-stop solution to every problem, and players often turned to him when things didn’t go as planned.
In a recent interview with Times of India, Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed the unconditional support Dhoni gave in the former’s earlier days.
The wrist-spinner opines that Dhoni is one of the greatest players to have ever graced the game for India.
“Mahi bhai is one the best and greatest players India has produced. He has helped me and Kuldeep during matches. Sometimes, a batsman hits me for boundaries and then he comes, puts his hands around my shoulder and says ‘isko googly daal, ye nahi khel payega’ (Bowl him a googly, he will not be able to play),” said Chahal.
The 29-years-old leg spinner further remarks that Dhoni is a master in reading the body language of a player.
“After 40 overs Virat bhaiya fields at the boundary and you need someone to teach you and guide you. Sometimes, I look at Mahi Bhai and he gets to know from my body language that I want to ask something or have some confusion. He comes to me and resolves those issues,” he added.
“50 percent of the problem he solves before I come on to bowl. The same happens with Kuldeep too. He (Dhoni) is a problem solver for Kuldeep and I,” Chahal concluded.
There’s no doubt that Dhoni’s presence behind the stumps has brought the best out of Chahal and Kuldeep, as both wrist-spinners themselves have affirmed this on several occasions.
