Lance Klusener, former South African all-rounder said he sees himself in MS Dhoni as the Indian star performed a similar role during his international career. Lance Klusener is widely regarded as one of the most exciting players and the best finisher of his era.
The 49-year-old is currently the head coach of the Afghanistan cricket team. In a recent interview with Malayala Manorama, Lance Klusener discussed MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, saying that MS Dhoni perfected the art of finishing games while Virat Kohli plays an anchor role.
Lance Klusener: MS Dhoni Perfected Finishing Matches While Virat Kohli Plays An Anchor Role
The current coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team added that MS Dhoni perfected the art of taking the games deep and finishing them off in the company of tail-enders. He referred to MS Dhoni and his successor Virat Kohli as the legends of the game.
“Dhoni perfected the art of taking the games deep and finishing it off in the company of tail-enders. When I look at him, I see myself! Like me, Dhoni is an aggressive batsman who looks to dominate the bowlers right from the word go and accelerate the scoring rate,” Klusener said.
While talking about Virat Kohli, the former all-rounder opined that building an innings and playing an anchor role is a much tougher task in international cricket.
“Players like Kohli play an anchor role by batting through most of the innings. Compared to Kohli, our job was easier. Batting at the top-order and stitching the innings together by playing against quality bowling is tough. That’s why I think Kohli belongs to a different class,” Lance Klusener added.
Further, the 49-year-old, reckoned that Virat Kohli’s job was tougher than that of any finisher in the game as he plays an anchor role for the team and bats through most part of the innings. The same reason, according to Lance Klusener, makes him a player belonging to a different class.
Lance Klusener Regrets Failure At 1999 World Cup
Lance Klusener never played T20I for South Africa. But there is no doubt he would have been more than a handy player in the shortest format, given his batting and bowling prowess. Lance Klusener said that not being around in the IPL and T20 era is one of the biggest regrets of his life, besides his failure at the World Cup.
“My failure at the World Cup will remain the biggest regret of my life. The IPL comes second. In fact, Mumbai Indians had invited me to be a part of their coaching staff three years ago, but I was not in a position to accept that offer,” the South African said.
Widely considered as one of the best all-rounders of his era, Lance Klusener played 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for South Africa over the course of his international career. However, he is notoriously remembered for not being able to take South Africa over the line in the 1999 World Cup semi-final match against Australia, which ended in a tie.
The semi-final contest between Australia and South Africa in the 1999 World Cup will be remembered for ages. Lance Klusener was one run away from taking his side to the final of the mega event. However, the talisman all-rounder could not do it as Allan Donald was run-out. Lance Klusener didn’t turn his back and kept on running towards the dressing room. The Proteas lost as Australia had a better net run rate in the group stages.