One of the standout features of MS Dhoni over the years has been his leadership quality. He always struck the right balance to deal with both experienced and young players, whichever team he led to silverware. His former teammate at Chennai Super Kings, Shreyas Gopal, lauded Dhoni’s ability to be humble despite all the success he had seen over the years.
“It’s very hard to be MS Dhoni; it’s extremely hard. People think that it’s very easy to be MS Dhoni. There is a lot of fame and people shout [cheer], but to be him, to be so grounded and to be so humble and to be so empathetic, caring is very hard. And you also understand that he’s also a human being. He loves doing very simple and basic things, and that is his greatness,” Gopal said on Sports Yaari.
“Mainly, it’s basically how to handle a player, how to put a player in a tournament, who to use for the specific over, tactically, there have been so many talks with him. And there’s no one better than him; everyone knows that. So, learning captaincy, learning how to finish matches, just learning how to, the way he deals with his stardom,” he added.
Dream for many of us: Gopal
“To play with Dhoni was a dream for many of us, billions of us maybe. So, I got that chance last year, and I would love to continue that for another few more years. The more he plays the game, the more it’s beneficial for cricket. And the discussions that we have with him in the dressing room, the inputs we get, it’s just priceless. So, I think I’m extremely grateful to be playing for CSK and playing with and under him” Gopal further said.
The 44-year-old, as a leader, has won a T20 World Cup, an ODI World Cup, and ICC Champions Trophy for India. He has also won five titles with Chennai Super Kings and a couple of Champions Leagues.
