MS Dhoni donned a similar role to Sourav Ganguly in grooming youngsters, admits Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan has revealed that MS Dhoni, during the latter part of his career, donned a similar role to Sourav Ganguly’s in terms of grooming the younger generation. He also added that it was quintessential for a player to get support during the initial stage of their career, to help them shape it.
Left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan is one of the few players to have played both under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni. Zaheer drew a parallel between Ganguly’s captaincy and Dhoni’s captaincy, admitting that Dhoni donned a similar role during his last few years with the Indian team.
When a 29-year-old Dhoni took over the captaincy, India already had some experienced superstars in the playing XI, including the presence of Sachin, Zaheer and Harbhajan. However, post the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the onus was on Dhoni to take over the team and don a mentor role, nurturing the youngsters. It was under his captaincy, the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and co made their international debut.
“When MS got the team, there were a lot of experienced players in the side, so he did not have to do too much to get them up to speed. However, once they started retiring, he then had to nurture the young match. He had spent a similar kind of role and done similar things to what Dada (Ganguly) did with the young crop. This is the quality of the leader to take the team forward,” said Zaheer, reported Hindustan Times.
Zaheer also added on to Yuvraj’s statement, saying that the support he got from Ganguly during the early days were crucial. The left-arm pacer added that if not for Ganguly's support, it would have been extremely tough for him to establish a great international career.
“That’s (support from Ganguly) what you need at that stage of your career. When you start at the international level, you need all the support. Then it is up to you as to how you shape up your career. But that initial support is extremely vital,” he concluded.