Mumbai: With three IPL titles with Chennai Super Kings, one of Indias greatest cricketing leader, M.S. Dhoni is an enigma! On the 13th anniversary of the IPL, MSD was named the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) captain in the IPL by the Star Sports jury, on their flagship show Cricket Connected. Captain Cool, who has a staggering win percentage of 60.11, pipped Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to a record four titles. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been one of the many players who has received a demi-God status in Indian cricket. From making his debut in a team comprising of legends, Dhoni only managed to successfully grab the spotlight after he led Team India to a World T20 title in 2007. From thereon, his stature kept growing! Chennai Super Kings picked him in the maiden IPL auction, where he became the most expensive player in 2008 and since then began MSD’s transformation from a player to an icon. With over 4000 runs at an average of almost 42 in the IPL, Dhoni has time and again proved his importance as a vital cog in the CSK wheel. His ability to finish off games saw Captain Cool as the leading run scorer in the 2019 edition. He has led his team to 8 finals, the most by any captain in the tournament. Besides his contribution to the game, Dhoni has also managed to win the hearts of his team.
Lauding Dhoni’s captaincy, Star Sports expert and former World Cup-winning fast bowler Ashish Nehra said on Cricket Connected: “My pick for the greatest captain is MS Dhoni, under whose captaincy I have played the maximum, be it for the national team or in the IPL. I haven’t played under Rohit, so I choose Dhoni.” Besides Rohit, Dhoni also faced stiff competition from Gautam Gambhir who took KKR to 2 IPL trophy victories. Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and David Warner were also a part of the elite nominee list. Along with Ashish Nehra, Sanjay Manjrekar, Darren Ganga, Scotty Styris, Mike Hesson, Dean Jones, Russell Arnold, Simon Doull and Graeme Smith chose Dhoni as their GOAT — captain. IANS