MS Dhoni will clap if a good ball gets hit for a six, claims Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan, who played under MS Dhoni in the IPL for three seasons, has revealed that the CSK skipper claps for the bowlersā good deliveries even if that goes for a six. The spin wizard has also added that Dhoni listens to everyone before taking a decision in his own way.
Muttiah Muralitharan might have retired from Test cricket in 2010, but he continued to pursue his own discourse in limited-overs cricket, helping Sri Lanka to the final in the 2011 World Cup, while he was also a part of the IPL till 2014. In the course of his seven-edition long IPL career, the off-spinner turned up for CSK, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and later Royal Challengers Bangalore, but it was with the men in yellow he had the most success as a spinner. It gave him a chance to understand MS Dhoniās thought-process and how he operates as a leader and gave strong reasons for why the wicket-keeper is so successful.
"Definitely he was a young captain, I would say. It was in the 2007 World Cup that he captained and won. But his theories are very nice to see. Because he will give the ball to the bowler and tell him to set the field and bowl. If it wasnāt working, then he would ask them to give a chance to the field he sets,ā Muralitharan told India off-spinner R Ashwin in his show DRS with Ash.
"He (Dhoni) will clap if a good ball gets hit for a six. Heāll tell the bowler that itās a good ball, and it doesnāt matter if the batsman has hit you for a six. Batsmen too have the talent to hit. āSo with that kind of appreciation, heāll call you alone, to tell you whatās needed instead of doing it in public because of those qualities, he has been so successful.ā
When Dhoni took over as the CSKās captain in the inaugural edition, just after leading a bunch of youngsters to a World Cup win, he was a rather young commodity yet so confident in his own skin. While Dhoni never shied away from seeking help from seniors, he remained his own man in taking the final decision, something that Muralitharan was hugely appreciative of.Ā
āHe has the ability to think calmly, itās because of these plus points that he became such a good leader. Even when he was young, heād listen to advice (from seniors). Heāll listen to people and then heāll make the decision at the end of the day. Thatās how he used to captain.
āBut more than that, he wouldnāt care about how players bat in the IPL. But he wants the players who can win the match for you. Thatās how he went about his business,ā Murali added.