Speaking to India Today after MS Dhoni announced his international retirement, batting great Sunil Gavaskar said the man from Ranchi is quite similar to India’s first World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev.
MS Dhoni announced international retirement after glorious career spanning 16 years.
HIGHLIGHTS
Sunil Gavaskar said MS Dhoni is a serious contender to lead his all-time India XI
Both MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev wanted their teams to achieve great things: Sunil Gavaskar
What he has achieved in cricket certainly makes him a legend: Gavaskar on Dhoni
World Cup winner and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said MS Dhoni is a legend of the game and his contribution to Indian cricket has been “beyond the field”. Gavaskar said Dhoni will certainly be remembered every time when there is a talk about leadership in “all walks of life”. Speaking to India Today after MS Dhoni retired from international cricket on Saturday, Sunil Gavaskar said MS Dhoni has the edge over Kapil Dev if he were to pick a captain for an all-time India XI. MS Dhoni bid goodbye to international cricket in his inimitable way -- a cryptic Instagram post on India’s 74th Independence Day. The 39-year-old signs off as one of the most successful captains of India, having won all three major International Cricket Council (ICC) trophies, including the 50-over World Cup in 2011. MS Dhoni became only the 2nd India captain after Kapil Dev in 1983 to lift the World Cup in 2011. Notably, both Dhoni and Kapil, as Gavaskar points out, come from Indian cities that were not known for their cricketers. “Absolutely, there is no question about it (him being a legend). What he has achieved in cricket certainly makes him a legend. The way he has captained India, the way he has groomed youngsters, the way he has groomed not just batsmen not just leaders, he has groomed somebody like a Virat kohli under him, look at the way he has groomed spinners,” Gavaskar said. “That certainly makes him a legend. Because his contribution has been beyond the field. He is somebody, when you talk about leaders in all walks of life, his name will always come up there.
Dhoni and Kapil are very similar: Gavaskar
Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar also said MS Dhoni is quite similar to Kapil Dev, shedding light on the two World Cup-winning captains’ approach to the game.
“Both (Dhoni and Kapil) were very, very similar. Both had similar approaches to the game. They loved playing the game. Both of them loved being in the center of action and they wanted to achieve great things for their teams. In that way, both are very similar,” Gavaskar said.
“Also again, coming from cities that were not cricket centric. I think it was fated that if India’s first-ever World Cup-winning captain was from a non-cricketing city, if one might call it that, non-cricketing city - Chandigarh, so also, the next World Cup-winning captain was going to be from a non-cricketing city like Ranchi. Both of them are similar on the field, they are very cool, seldom show their emotions and which makes it easy for their players.
“If a captain is a little more irritable at a catch being dropped or a misfield, then the players get even more nervous. And that’s where Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni scored. They just controlled their emotions so well, that the players did not feel affected at all and played their own game freely.”
Dhoni or Kapil: Who will lead Gavaskar’s all-time India XI?
Gavaskar also said Dhoni holds the edge over Kapil if he were to pick a captain for an all-time India XI. The batting great said Dhoni’s T20 World Cup title to go along with his 2011 World Cup title, gives him the edge.
“Yes, I think he will be very much a contender (for captaining all-time India XI). If you look at captaincy in one-day cricket for India, there would just be two guys who would come in the frame as far being captains, one is MS Dhoni and one is Kapil Dev.
“I think these are the two contenders, because they have won the others might have had very good performances, won bilateral series but when it comes to winning World Cups, I think MS Dhoni has just a little edge over Kapil because he has not just won the 50-over World Cup but also the T20 World Cup. So I think he would be right up there,” Gavaskar said.
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