Former Indian skipper and legend Sunil Gavaskar reflects on what makes MS Dhoni ‘stand out’

Whenever the greatest players in cricket history are discussed, the name of former India captain MS Dhoni is always thrown into the mix. The 41-year-old won every major trophy as the captain of the Indian team and even managed to register four IPL title reigns for the Chennai Super Kings.

It has been more than 15 years since Dhoni made his IPL debut for CSK; since then, he has become one of the franchise's biggest fan favourites and has truly revolutionised the wicketkeeper-batter and finisher role. With the 16th edition of the IPL right around the corner, legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar came forward to heap praises on Dhoni.

"I think when CSK returned and won the IPL trophy, it was absolutely amazing because the team had not been together for two years and they had moved out with different franchises and suddenly they come back again," Gavaskar told Star Sports.

"That tells you leadership. That tells you how the man could get a team together again after that gap. Sometimes you know, first year, second year there is a team spirit that happens but to get all of them together after the gap is remarkable," he added.

Sunil Gavaskar reminisces about a specific MSD masterclass

Elaborating further, Gavaskar was not shy about heaping praise on MSD. The legendary Indian batter recalled one instance where CSK needed 20 runs to win in the final and how Dhoni’s explosive batting propelled the side to an emphatic victory.

"I think therefore that particular year and some of the shots that he played, I remember one game where the teams needed 20 odd runs in the final over and he just smashed it around from everywhere from outside the off stump, he was hitting it over long on for sixes!" Gavaskar said.

"We were used to seeing that from Dhoni but even those little touches of his where he makes a fielder, a player feel 7 feet tall, are the touches that make him stand out from the other," he added.