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MS Dhoni is still our captain: Yuzvendra Chahal

He may not be the captain of the Indian side but several players look up to MS Dhoni for any on-field decision.

Yuzvendra Chahal made his debut for India under MS Dhoni's captaincy © Getty Images
Yuzvendra Chahal made his debut for India under MS Dhoni’s captaincy © Getty Images

We are used to hearing MS Dhoni’s quirky commentary behind the stumps like ‘Oye Sree! Udhar girlfriend nahi hain, idhar aa ja thoda’ (Hey Sree, it’s not like your girlfriend is over there. Move over here) or when he was quick to remind Ravindra Jadeja of Cheteshwar Pujara’s placement on the field, ‘Yeh ghoomega toh Pujara ko isiliye idhar rakha hai, woh udhar volleyball khelne ke liye nahi khada hai’ (It will spin, that is why I have kept Pujara there to field, he is not there to play volleyball).

MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli?

He may not be the captain of the Indian side but several players look up to MS Dhoni for any on-field decision. When Virat Kohli was named the captain across formats, there were moments where bowlers still relied on Dhoni for lot of judgement. Sometimes Kohli stood there, clueless. Bowlers have also asked help from Dhoni regarding the field placements, despite Kohli standing right beside him.

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He may have been ridiculed for his dry patch or been questioned for his place in the Indian side ahead of 2019 World Cup, Dhoni has always been a players’ captain. In a recent interview of Yuzvendra Chahal with NDTV, the spinner could not stop himself from praising the former captain. Chahal had started his international journey under Dhoni through the Zimbabwe series in 2016.

Yuzvendra Chahal’s take on MS Dhoni

“Dhoni bhai is still our captain. Sometimes, when Kohli bhai fields at mid-on or long-on, then we need someone who can guide us too. It is not possible for Kohli to come up and tell what needs to be done. Then, Dhoni takes over,” Chahal said while explaining Dhoni’s mentoring.

Enlightening more on some experience, Dhoni’s ‘Chotey’ added, “Dhoni signals Kohli to remain at his place. He says – tu wahi reh, mai dekh lunga (You stay there, I will handle). Actually, it saves time too. Dhoni has abundance of experience with him. We all are lucky that we are sharing the field with him. Dhoni-bhai is approachable. I know he has quit captaincy but we all know he will always remain the team’s captain.”

Through his keeping skills, Dhoni has the ability to understand the game better and can read the mind of the bowler as well as the batsmen, “He knows how to read a batsman’s mind. I don’t know how he does, but he manages brilliantly. He calls me and says, Chote isko bahar daal ya straight daal. I do the same and get the results. He is an amazing person,” Chahal concluded.

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