Former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has showered praise on MS Dhoni’s leadership after the conclusion of the Asia Cup. Dhoni retired from the white-ball format on August 15, 2020 after leading India in 332 matches across all formats.
The former Indian skipper is regarded as one of the most successful Indian captains and he led India to glory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Dhawan, who made his debut under Dhoni’s captaincy, said the former skipper was always calm under pressure and never chased anything during his tenure.
Shikhar Dhawan said on Raj Shamani’s podcast, “Dhoni bhai is very relaxed. I feel that he is naturally very calm and never chases anything, even in leadership. Mentally, he is very, very strong, and I feel he is also highly elevated. His ethics are very strong, his values are very strong, and nature has truly blessed him. He has nurtured players, created champions, even when he won the first T20 World Cup, he was very composed. The qualities of a leader were very evident in him, and of course, with time and experience, those qualities only grew stronger.”
The former left-hander revealed that Dhoni always supported him a lot and backed him in the team when things were not going well.
“He has supported me a lot. He gave me a lot of support. For example, giving chances in matches. If things weren’t going well, he knew that even if it wasn’t working at the moment, this player has the potential to deliver, to win the match. He knew this player could be a match-winner. Even if the player wasn’t performing for four or five matches, he would give them a long run. That’s the kind of captain he is. When you are a captain, you should back your players, and he did exactly that.”
On the other hand, Dhawan also praised Shubman Gill for drawing the Test series against England. Gill scored 754 runs in five Test matches and led from the front.
“Very good, because as soon as he got the captaincy, he handled that pressure so well and performed so strongly. Drawing that series was a big achievement. So this series was a very big deal. The way they won the matches was incredible. It was a great captaincy. I am sure it is just the start of a journey for him. He will learn so much from these test matches, and as he progresses, he has the composure and aggression. With time, he will get even more mature.”
Gill will lead India in a two-match Test series against the West Indies.
