Steve Smith the best batsmen, MS Dhoni the best captain I’ve seen, says Michael Vaughan

Steve Smith the best batsmen, MS Dhoni the best captain I’ve seen, says Michael Vaughan

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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has revealed that Australia’s Steve Smith is the best player he has ever seen, while MS Dhoni is the best captain of the modern era. Vaughan also praised both Ben Stokes and Smith who have redeemed themselves and their careers after making big mistakes. 

He may just be a TV commentator now but the former Englishman has never shied away from sharing his thoughts on the state of cricket today. While discussing captaincy and coaching across formats in the modern era, Vaughan commented that India’s World Cup-winning skipper Dhoni is the best of all the captains in the modern era. 

“Kane Williamson is outstanding. He has the gift to lead without having to say too much. He can manoeuvre his team in a sensible way and not a noisy way. Everyone realizes he is the leader, the power. Eoin Morgan was a revelation in 50-over cricket. MS Dhoni doesn’t do international captaincy anymore but in our era, Dhoni is the best white-ball captain I have seen…the way he manoeuvres from behind the stump, just reads play, thinks out of the box, handles the pressure card and is also great with the bat. In Tests, Virat Kohli is busy, energetic, a brilliant batsman, full of life. I like the way he captains,” Vaughan told TOI in an exclusive interview.

Although an Englishman, he did not stop himself from showering praise on Smith, the man who almost single-handedly led Australia’s batting in the recently concluded Ashes series in England. 

“He is the best Test match player I’ve seen. I’ve seen all the greats of this era and the past. I think Steve Smith has something unique and different. When you think he started Test cricket in 2010-11 as a No.7 batsman who bowls leg-spin, it is again a lesson for everyone that if you work hard, dedicate your life to one subject -- his subject is batting -- you can do extraordinary things,” Vaughan said. 

Smith was the subject of a one-year ban from all forms of the game for his involvement in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa early last year. And just like him, Ben Stokes too had made a major mistake when he was arrested for being involved in a bar fight. However, both of them have worked their way back to redemption with  a brilliant summer of cricket. 

“Yes, two special cricketers that made big mistakes, mistakes I’m sure both regret. In life we must all respect the fact that mistakes can happen to young people. The lesson is about comebacks and fighting. What is done is done but you can learn from that and come back stronger. Both Smith and Stokes are adverts for that,” Vaughan said. 

“Ben has shown he can hold his head up high, in terms of the way he has reacted and returned to the side. He works harder than anybody. He is a fantastic team player. In the dressing room he is very positive, driven. He wants to be that one person that makes the difference. That’s what high quality all-rounders do. They have that mentality of wanting it to be about them, and not in an egotistical sense,” Vaughan added.

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