Indian batter KL Rahul revealed that MS Dhoni played a pivotal role in inspiring him on how to handle a team in tough situations–and said the team missed the Indian legend’s presence in the dressing room as he decided to hang up the boots post-2019 ODI World Cup.
The 41-year-old is unarguably one of the best captains in the history of Cricket. MS Dhoni is the only captain to lift all ICC trophies so far (ODI and T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy) and is known for his shrewd cricketing brain in Indian cricket.
MS Dhoni is one of the most sought cricketers in India, as he inspired many players around him to perform at the highest level. Speaking to YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, KL Rahul opened up about playing under MS Dhoni. He asserted that he learned how to build relationships with players in the team.
“MS Dhoni was my first captain. I’ve seen how he has handled the team, the calmness, and the things that he does behind the scenes. Building a relationship with each person is something I’ve learned from him. You need to build a relationship where these boys will fight for you, and with you,” KL Rahul said.
KL Rahul divulged that he missed the presence of the Indian great in the dressing room, as his presence made a huge impact on the team and believes that every cricketer’s dream is to play under the leadership of MS Dhoni as he keeps things simple and maintaining the balance in his life.
“I’ve realised much later, once when he retired and now he’s not part of the dressing room, I realised the presence of that man and the greatness that was a part of him. It’s probably every cricket lover’s dream to be in the dressing room and be captained by MS Dhoni. He’s very simple in his approach, what you see is what you get. He’s very balanced in everything that he does”.
MS Dhoni is unarguably one of the greatest Indian captains in the history of cricket winning three ICC titles for India and In IPL, he has been captaining the Chennai franchise since the inaugural edition (2008) and led the team to become the second most successful franchise winning 4 IPL titles in the cash-rich league.
MS Dhoni Would Never Try To Question It Or Second- Guess It – KL Rahul On CSK Skipper’s Gut Feeling
Kl Rahul said that MS Dhoni always told him to trust his instinct as a captain and believes that MS Dhoni has always trusted his instinct throughout his life and reckons that the Indian legendary skipper goes with the gut feeling as he never has second thoughts about his feeling.
“He said this to me a lot of times… trust your gut as a captain. That’s something he did, as a leader and as a person in general. The first thought that you get, you always question it, but he never questioned it. If he had a gut feeling about a certain thing, he would never try to question it or second-guess it.
“He did it, whether it went well or didn’t go well. That’s what helped him in a lot of ways. That’s why he was unorthodox in a lot of ways, people didn’t understand at the time but he trusted his gut feeling. That’s why he got results too,” KL Rahul added.
The CSK skipper has kept the cricketing fraternity and fans guessing about his retirement from the cash-rich league as he has not announced anything officially about his retirement plans. It will interesting to see whether the Indian legend hangs up his boots after this season or continue to play for CSK.