Even at the age of 41, MS Dhoni continues to be one of the most feared finishers and most respected captains in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Chennai Super Kings captain, who recently became the first cricketer to lead a franchise in more than 200 matches, is known for his shrewd tactics, unmatchable game-reading skills and ice-cool temperament. The fact that Dhoni has led CSK to four IPL titles and has the best win percentage (58.87 with 126 wins in 215 matches) speaks volumes about his quality as a leader.
Sunil Gavaskar, one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket, is a fan of MS Dhoni. The legendary opening batter has time and again lauded Dhoni for his performance with the bat and as a captain. Gavaskar, who is currently working as a broadcaster in IPL 2023, gave further proof of his admiration for Dhoni by saying that he would have loved to play under him.
Gavaskar took Mumbai Indians' name when he was asked via #AskStar which team he would like to play for in the IPL. But the former India captain was quick to add that if his MI dream doesn't materialise then he would love to be a part of CSK because of Dhoni and the crowd the support.
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"If not Mumbai Indians then I would like to play for Chennai Super Kings. Chennai Super Kings for two reasons, firstly, the Chennai owners are passionate about cricket, they have done so much for the sport. Srinivasan sir has done a lot for cricket. And the second big reason would be to sit in the dressing room with MS Dhoni and see how he captains the team. Is he as calm and composed in the dressing room as he is on the field? Does he lose his cool when someone has dropped a catch or somebody didn’t back up a fielder? That’s what I would like to know," Gavaskar said.
{{/usCountry}}"If not Mumbai Indians then I would like to play for Chennai Super Kings. Chennai Super Kings for two reasons, firstly, the Chennai owners are passionate about cricket, they have done so much for the sport. Srinivasan sir has done a lot for cricket. And the second big reason would be to sit in the dressing room with MS Dhoni and see how he captains the team. Is he as calm and composed in the dressing room as he is on the field? Does he lose his cool when someone has dropped a catch or somebody didn’t back up a fielder? That’s what I would like to know," Gavaskar said.
{{/usCountry}}Notably, MI and CSK are two of the most successful teams in the IPL. Together they have won nine IPL titles and have reached the finals the most times.
As far as their current position in the 16th edition of the league is concerned, CSK are at No.3 with three wins and five outings while MI are at No.6 with the same number of points due to an inferior Net Run Rate.
On being asked via #AskStar who he would like to see play the IPL from his era, former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar said “Look, a batsman I would like to see would be Sandeep Patil, there is only one all-rounder who I would choose – Kapil Dev, for the bowler, I would like to see BS Chandrashekhar play in the T20 format, because his bowling action was not suited only for test cricket, but one day cricket and T20 cricket would also be easy for him.”