Unlike Dhoni, I was never able to keep my emotions in check as captain, claims Ricky Ponting

Until the birth of MS Dhoni as a skipper, Australia’s Ricky Ponting was - and is still, by many people - widely regarded as the greatest captain of all time. Under Ponting’s leadership, Australia became invincibles and won back-to-back World Cups in 2003 and 2007, while they also won the 2006 and 2009 Champions Trophy titles with the Tasmanian at the helm of affairs. Ever since Dhoni’s arrival to the scene, though, opinions have been divided amongst fans and experts, with many, in fact, favouring Dhoni due to the wicket-keeper turning a somewhat ordinary side into world-beaters.

But comparisons with Dhoni hasn’t stopped Ponting from expressing his admiration for the Jharkhand man, who is six years his junior. The former Aussie skipper, in an interview with news.com.au, heaped praise on ‘Captain Cool’ Dhoni and singled out the wicket-keeper’s ability to keep his emotions under check, something Ponting believes he himself didn’t do so well during his time as skipper. 

“He [MS Dhoni] never seems to let his emotions get the better of him, which is a really good trait in a leader — as hard as I tried when I was on the field, I could never quite stay in complete control of my emotions.” Ponting told news.com.au, reported Times Now.

It was MS Dhoni’s Indian side which was responsible for ending Australia’s quest of winning their fourth consecutive World Cup title, in 2011, and Ponting noted how the Jharkhand man always seemed to get the best out of anyone and everyone who played under his leadership.

“Indian teams always seemed to lift when he was captain. He always seemed to have this knack to be able to get the best out of his players. You knew that he had things under control, and his teammates loved that about him,” Ponting said of Dhoni’s captaincy.

After taking over as head coach, Ponting led IPL franchise Delhi Capitals to its first play-off finish since 2012, but his side’s charge was halted by none other than Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings, who beat the Shreyas Iyer-led DC in the eliminator. Wary of CSK and Dhoni’s threat,  the 45-year-old Aussie claimed that he was keen not to allow Dhoni to inflict damage on his DC side when they take on CSK in IPL 2020.

“Chennai have been one of the most consistently strong and competitive teams in the IPL, and a lot of that’s got to come down to his [MS Dhoni’s] leadership as well. I’m looking forward to coaching against him now and making sure he doesn’t win any game off his own bat when Chennai play the Delhi Capitals.”

While Dhoni is the second most successful captain in the IPL, having won 3 titles, Ponting himself has also won the IPL both as a player and as a coach, with Mumbai Indians.