MS Dhoni's thinking was always one step ahead of the rest, opines Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina has revealed that MS Dhoni always judges the game better than anyone else because of him standing behind the wicket and revealed an instance to back that statement. The southpaw further praised Rohit Sharma, calling him a âbindassâ captain, just like his own skipper at CSK.
Suresh Rainaâs admiration for MS Dhoni is one of the fascinating and organic love stories in Indian cricket, with the former, on a regular basis, backing his skipper even when the chips are down. He had some of the best years in an India shirt with Dhoni being the captain and that is something the Uttar Pradesh batsman has always acknowledged. Speaking highly of Dhoni once again, Raina stated that the wicket-keeper batsman thinks ahead of everyone, something that was evident in him promoting Raina in a group game in the 2015 World Cup.
âI remember during the 2015 World Cup he sent me higher up the order to bat and I got 70-80 odd in that game. Later that evening I asked him, how and why did you think of sending me that high up and he said because they had two leg-spinners bowling and he knew that I would play them better. Even now I think about those occasions,â Raina said on Sportscreen's YouTube page.
"But I know that he (Dhoni) was always thinking one step ahead from us because the guy is standing behind the stumps, watching the entire proceedings, the cameras, the crowds, that man can't be wrong. He knows how much it is swinging, how much the pitch is turning. God has certainly gifted him with some special ability and that's why he's been such a successful leader," he added.
While Dhoni has led Chennai Super Kings to three IPL titles, Rohit Sharma has since emerged as the most successful skipper in the tournament, after leading his side to its fourth IPL title by beating Chennai in the 2019 edition of the IPL final. Raina singled out Rohit, someone with which he's shared a great bond over the years, for special praise and stated that the Mumbaikar's leadership has an uncanny resemblance to Dhoni.
"Rohit's captaincy is very similar to MSD. The way he does things calmly, the way he motivates people. He is bindaas, he knows that whenever he goes to bat he'll make runs. So this sort of confidence is there in a player then the rest of the players also pick that up from him ⌠this is what I like about Rohit.
"I recently saw in that final against Pune, Rohit made some 2-3 great moves as captain of Mumbai.. in crunch situations the way he made changes between overs on a dry wicket, the way he released pressure then created pressure. Watching that you know that he is taking all these decisions himself. Yes, there must be some advice coming from outside but in his mind he knows what to do when. No wonder he has won so many trophies as captain," the southpaw added.