New Delhi: Ricky Ponting admires the longevity of MS Dhoni and his ability to make meaningful contributions in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kigs despite his physical limitations.
Dhoni led CSK to five IPL titles before giving up captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad last season. A knee injury limited his involvement in games, as he switched to a role of late order pinch-hitting batter apart from his keeping duties.
Since retiring from India duty in 2019, Dhoni’s role has evolved from captain and a finisher to an elder statesman and bit-part dasher. The former India skipper has adapted to each rol with ease.
This quality of his apart from maintaining high standards on the field for over a decade is what Pointing admires.
“The best players are the ones that are able to maintain such a high level for a long time…for 10, 12, 14-year careers,” Ponting said whole speaking on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“Two seasons ago he probably had his worst season, but then last year again, he bounced back into really impacting some games like the MS Dhoni of old.
“He’s actually batting the last 20 balls of an innings now but still showing that you can make a big impact on the game by doing that,” the newly appointed Punjab Kings coach added.
“I think it will be exactly the same now…they might not get him through the whole season. They might think about leaving him out for a game and resting him up here and there to make sure that they’re getting the best out of him.”
Mentor and leader
The 43-year-old left captaincy last season to shed some of the responsibility that he has shouldered for so long but that doesn’t stop him from being the man the CSK team looks up to.
“Any team that he’s in, whether he’s captain or not, he’s always going to be a mentor and a leader around that group, whether he’s playing, whether he’s sitting on the sidelines, that’s just who he is…he’s crucial to Chennai, for that leadership that he brings on and off the field,” he stated.
