Former India cricketer K Srikkanth heaps praise on former Indian captain MS Dhoni. He has credited the wicketkeeper-batsman for changing the power dynamics in Indian cricket. He mentions how Indian cricket was majorly dominated by players from the metro cities.  But when a Ranchi-born player in Dhoni entered the national team setup, he gave hope to the other young cricketers who want to make it in the Indian team.

Srikkanth said, “When somebody like Dhoni made it to the national side, the powerhouses of Indian cricket started to change. A cricketer from Ranchi was a masterstroke. The Zonal selector was watching cricket in the east and he saw something really special in Dhoni. He did not do something substantial in his first two matches and people wrote him off. But he played a 140 odd knock against Pakistan and it made him really confident”.

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“Post Dhoni era, we have seen a lot of players from small towns making the cut. This legacy will be very huge and it is a testament to him. The team was handed over in the right way to Virat,” he added.

After taking over captaincy in white-ball cricket, MS Dhoni lead India to some incredible victories. Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket to all major ICC trophies. Under his captaincy, India also managed to rank number one in Test cricket. Srikkanth reckons how playing under test cricket under former captain Kumble helped MS Dhoni understand the importance of leadership.

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“When he was the captain in the 2007 T20 World Cup, he handled the side really well, the win boosted his confidence. He has always been calm and cool, he has motivated the players, aggressive culture was brought in by Sourav Ganguly, MS was totally opposite of that, when Kumble was the captain of the Test side, it was a good chance for MS to learn. Anil gave him much-needed experience, Dhoni gave a lot of confidence to the players”.