Former Australia batsman and India head coach Greg Chappell believes that the recently-retired MS Dhoni was the most impressive young man he had worked with. Chappell who came in as India’s head coach barely months after MS Dhoni had made his ODI debut in December 2004 in Bangladesh, said that Dhoni graduated into one of the best finishers.
“MS Dhoni was the most impressive young man with whom I have worked. He had no false modesty. If he thought he could do something, he was not afraid to say so. Not in a cocky way. Just certain in his own capabilities,” Chappell told Bangalore Mirror.
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Chappell who was India head coach from 2005 to 2007, said that Dhoni developed into the most ruthless finisher in his day and age.
He developed from a wicketkeeper who had power with bat in his hand, to become the most ruthless finisher in white-ball history. “There seemed no target beyond his capability because he could conjure a four or a six at will. Even before T20 became part of the scene, 20 runs per over in the death overs was not beyond Dhoni in his prime,” he said.
“When I first met Dhoni in 2005, I was taken by his strength and the fact that he hit balls into parts of the field that others couldn’t. Short balls that most pulled through mid-wicket, MS hit straight back past startled bowlers. His back-foot, short-armed punches down the ground were also a signature shot, but what impressed me most of all was his ability to clear the boundary at will.
{{/usCountry}}“When I first met Dhoni in 2005, I was taken by his strength and the fact that he hit balls into parts of the field that others couldn’t. Short balls that most pulled through mid-wicket, MS hit straight back past startled bowlers. His back-foot, short-armed punches down the ground were also a signature shot, but what impressed me most of all was his ability to clear the boundary at will.
{{/usCountry}}“What was in no doubt was that he was going to be a dangerous proposition in the death overs. No one wanted to bowl to him in the late overs.What was in no doubt was that he was going to be a dangerous proposition in the death overs. No one wanted to bowl to him in the late overs,” Chappell further recalled.
Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15th, is expected to return to the cricket field as the leader of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020, which is slated to begin from September 19 in the UAE.