Former Indian coach Gary Kirsten has hailed MS Dhoni as the best captain he has worked with. It is high praise coming from Kirsten who has coached teams led by Graeme Smith, Anil Kumble and AB de Villiers to name a few.
Speaking in Mumbai, where he is coaching young cricketers, Kirsten opined that the current Indian limited overs skipper is up there with the best the country has produced.
“He is definitely the best leader I have worked with and his record for Indian cricket over the last 9-10 years speaks for itself. There is no debate on this. In my opinion, he is up there with India’s greatest captains and certainly has earned trophies for India in his time,” said Kirsten.
Kirsten and Dhoni enjoyed a great working relationship as the coach and captain of the Indian team from 2008 to 2011. During that period, they led India to the world number one spot on the ICC Test Rankings and a World Cup triumph at home in 2011 which would be Kirsten’s last involvement as India’s coach.
The former South African cricketer believes that the decision on Dhoni’s future should be left upto him and that he could still have a great World Cup performance left in him.
“If you are willing to let MS Dhoni go when there might potentially be a great World Cup performance left in him, you are taking a risk,” he said.
“There comes a time in every player’s life when he has to consider whether he should be in the team or it’s time to move on. We will leave the decision to him.”
Dhoni is considered as one of the greatest finishers in the history of ODI cricket, with an average of above 50 despite batting lower down the order and Kirsten feels that aspect of Dhoni’s game is unquestionable.
“You just have to look at his ODI batting record as well as a finisher — it’s unsurpassed in terms of the position he bats in. So, if anyone doubts his ability, I think they would be making a great mistake,” added Kirsten.
