You have to give MS Dhoni a lot of credit for Virat Kohliâs rise, feels Dinesh Ramdin
MS Dhoni in action as Ramdin is watching behind
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Dinesh Ramdin has stated that MS Dhoni gave many young Indian players experience and backed them at their worst when no one else would've given them those opportunities. Ramdin has further added that Virat Kohli, as a batsman, owes a huge debt of gratitude to the former Indian skipper.
Even though Dhoni inherited a great team from Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble in limited-overs and Test cricket respectively, he oversaw a transition phase in Indian cricket and led them to massive success in white-ball format. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina in ODIs and Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma in Test cricket always speak about the backing Dhoni extended to them when no one else believed in their abilities.
While this is a widely accepted fact in Indian cricket, foreign cricketers also observed this tendency as such that former Windies wicket-keeper Dinesh Ramdin stated how Dhoni made Kohli comfortable in his own place.
âA phenomenal leader, batsman, captain â a guy who has done it all at the international level. Very calm under pressure. Heâs given young players experience, he backed them. He never doubted the ability of those guys,â Ramdin told Cricket.com.
âI remember one instance when Virat (Kohli) wasnât getting any runs, he just came off an England series. We were there for a one-day series and we got Virat out once or two cheaply. He didnât drop him. He said look, rather than bat at number three, Iâm going to put you at four or five. In one game, he (Kohli) came in at number four or five and scored a century and that was it. He was back to his normal self.
âSometimes, understanding your players, not discarding them is important. Other teams might have gotten rid of their players, he still backed Virat. I think heâs (Kohli) going to be one of the best batsmen whoâs ever played the game. His passion as well for the game and you have to give Dhoni a lot of credit.â
Since Dhoni announced his retirement through a cryptic Instagram post on Indiaâs Independence Day, many former and current cricketers have paid tributes to the man from Ranchi for his exceptional cricket qualities. But Ramdin touched upon the person that Dhoni is, calling him a âwonderful human beingâ.
âDhoni is a wonderful human being. He always said he wants to be remembered as a humble servant or a great human being and not for all the stuff he did on the cricket field. I think that is important, that says a lot about him. Some players when you ask them what you want to be remembered as, (they say) âbest allrounderâ, âbest batsmanâ, âbest bowlerâ. But he went on the other side and said âthe best human being he can possibly beâ. I look at the movie and it was a very amazing story, where he came from and where he is today.â
