It's a misconception that MSD was not very emotional, reveals Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra has revealed that MS Dhoni just doesn’t show his emotions out in the public but he is a very emotional character when it comes to his cricket. Nehra has further showered praise on the former Indian cricketer by saying MS Dhoni always loved percentage cricket and took a few chances.
Nehra had played with Dhoni for over 13 years and during the entire tenure, he managed to share a very cordial relationship with the CSK skipper, who often turned to the pacer for suggestions while leading India and CSK. When Nehra played his last game for India, a T20 match against New Zealand in Delhi in 2017, Dhoni, despite not being the skipper, was actively involved in all on-field preparation while making Nehra an important cog in the wheel for India. It was just the microcosm of the mutual respect that the two shared for each other and Nehra acknowledged that in his tribute for the Indian skipper.
“Dhoni was always a quiet guy. Anyway, you take time to open up when you come into the team. Everyone comes from different parts of the country. And when he came in, we didn't know much about him because he wasn't much talked about when he was playing domestic cricket. He never suffered from an inferiority complex just because he came from Ranchi. He never tried to change his personality. Jo usske shauk thhe, woh hi karta thha. He never went out of his room but his room was always open to everyone, even when he was the captain,” Nehra told ToI on his former teammate and skipper.
“When I made my comeback in 2009, he had already led the side for two years and matured. He had won the World T20, so he had become very confident. It's a misconception that MSD was not very emotional. He just didn't show it. Everyone has his own way of playing the game. He always loved percentage cricket. He did take a few chances as a captain, as all captains must.”
When MS Dhoni took over, he had to manage many egos in the process, with the legendary players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh still being a part of the Indian dressing room. However, Dhoni not only found a way to get them to perform, he kept them at a pedestal from where they returned him with few absolutely brilliant performances.
“Gary Kirsten as a coach was a blessing for Dhoni. Yes, he also had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan in his team. They were all established stars before he became the captain. To keep them happy in international cricket and use them properly was not an easy job.
“It was the same team that fumbled under Greg Chappell's stint as India coach. But MS found a way to get the players performing. To balance your team, you need to have stability and a calm mind like Dhoni. If you look at it, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman ended their careers under him and they were still scoring runs.
“That his captaincy started with world title outside the subcontinent and in an unknown format helped him to build the team. He had a template strategy and he liked to stick to it. He knew how much he could draw out of one player. And he would back his players. Just because he seemed a quiet person, it didn't mean he didn't interact with players. He ensured consistency. During Dhoni's tenure, it never happened that every Test XI had three changes in it,” Nehra concluded.
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