Former India skipper MS Dhoni has left behind his predecessor Virat Kohli and other eminent personalities to become India’s third most influential figure. The World Cup-winning skipper is also the most influential sportsperson in the nation.
Before MS Dhoni arrived in the Indian team, who would have thought that a wicketkeeper-batsman would go on to become the batting mainstay of the side or would serve the Indian cricket for well over a decade?
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Before his arrival, wicketkeeping in India was all about a player who could keep the wickets and bat a little bit. Not surprisingly, the list is long for the wicketkeepers who managed to break into the Indian team but could not make an impression. None of those mentioned above players could manage to play more than 65 games – a fact that proves how big an impression Dhoni made on the Indian cricket.
That he has done so much coming from a region which hardly produced cricketers earlier and excelled through a home-made batting and wicketkeeping technique makes his achievements even more commendable. That Dhoni has been the best wicketkeeper to play this game is not something that needs to be proved.
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His achievements as a player and skipper is unparalleled at the moment. He is one of the few players to cross the 10,000-run mark in ODIs. As skipper, he is still the only one to win all the three ICC tournaments.
Unfortunately, the 37-year old is going through a tough phase right now due to his poor form on the field. However, it has not affected his popularity in the nation. The latest survey from the YouGov Influencer Index 2018 completely proves it as the veteran cricketer has been adjudged as the third most influential personality in India and the number one among sportspersons.
The YouGov Influencer Index 2018 covered the consumer perception of around 60 top Bollywood and sports personalities according to PTI. The data was collected online by YouGov from the people using its panel in India. The survey measures the awareness, likability, trustworthiness and influence of the celebrities among the people.
Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone are the top two in the list.
Dhoni, meanwhile, is likely to be seen in action again during the ODI series in Australia. He has been dropped from the team for the T20I series against the same opposition.
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