Former Indian head coach and Australian great Greg Chappell has rated former India captain MS Dhoni as “one of the sharpest cricket minds”, saying his decision-making skills set him apart from his peers.
Dhoni began his international career under Sourav Ganguly and John Wright, before showing glimpses of the ‘finisher’ in him during the Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell era. His knock of 183 not out, unbeaten 77 and 72 not out in Pakistan and an explosive 96 against England stand out as some Dhoni’s most memorable knocks during the Chappell tenure.
“The Indian subcontinent still has many towns where coaching facilities are rare and youngsters play in streets and on vacant land without the interference of formal coaching. This is where many of their current stars have learned the game,” wrote Chappell in his column for ESPNCricinfo on Wednesday.
The Australian quoted Dhoni’s example while lamenting the absence of natural environments that once played a huge part in developing and nurturing players in strong cricket nations.
“MS Dhoni, with whom I worked in India, is a good example of a batter who developed his talent and learned to play in this fashion. By competing against more experienced individuals on a variety of surfaces early in his development, Dhoni developed the decision-making and strategic skills that have set him apart from many of his peers. His is one of the sharpest cricket minds I have encountered.”
Dhoni lived upto Chappell’s expectations following the Australian’s ouster from the head coach position, in the aftermath of India’s disastrous 2007 ODI World Cup campaign.
The former Indian captain ended his illustrious international career with 17,266 runs, 16 tons, 829 dismissals, 359 sixes and led the national side to all three major ICC titles under his leadership tenure.
