Indian cricket first witnessed the seamless transition of captaincy between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and then saw Rohit Sharma become a part of the leadership bunch. The three figures have a distinguished style when it comes to captaining the national side. While Kohli has a reputation for wearing his heart on his sleeve, Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour, much like Rohit who is also a cool customer on the field. (Also Read | Jasprit Bumrah to captain India vs England in 5th Edgbaston Test after Rohit Sharma fails to recover from Covid on time)
It’s no secret that Dhoni, who has been hailed among the calmest personalities on and off the field, enjoys a huge fan following despite his exit from international cricket. A superhuman figure down south while leading IPL side Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni thrives under pressure and his recent 13-ball 28* against Mumbai Indians was a testament to his finishing prowess.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who has played under Dhoni for the Chennai outfit, lavished high praise on his captain, explaining how he remains unfazed by anything on and off the field. Moeen also said there are a lot of similarities to the captaincy styles of Dhoni and Eoin Morgan, who retired from international cricket on Tuesday.
“There are a lot of similarities (between Dhoni and Morgan). Both are very calm. Nothing fazes them, on or off the field, but they are also very competitive. They know exactly what they are doing and never seem to panic.”
“I’ve never seen either of them raise their voice in anger. If they feel they need to tackle someone, they do it one on one, never in front of the group. They never embarrass anyone and the players trust them. Even if you’d got ten noughts in a row, you’d feel they had your back,” Ali told Sports Today.
Moeen also spoke about his international comeback, having talked to coach Brendon McCullum. The 34-year-old all-rounder has been impressed by McCullum’s impact during the current Test series against New Zealand.
Moeen last played for England last year in Setpember before calling time on his Test career. It was for prolonging his career in the white-ball formats after finding it hard to stay motivated for the five-day form of the sport.
“I’ve spoken to Brendon a lot. He is looking to the winter and, of course, I want to see Jack (Leach) doing well. I don’t want to be the No 1 spinner and we are not talking a two or three-year cycle, but it’s more that if they’ve got injuries or need three or four spinners for a tour and they still feel like I’m playing well enough, then I’m more than happy to come and do it,” said the all-rounder.
