MS Dhoni is not a captain, he is a director: Ravichandran Ashwin

MS Dhoni's credentials as a captain are second to none. Winning three ICC events and five Indian Premier League titles as a leader is just half the story of the charismatic wicketkeeper-batter. He inspired a number of players during his tenure on the Indian side, backed them to the hilt, and helped them live up to their potential. After retiring from international cricket in 2020, the 42-year-old continues to guide younger players around him in the IPL by sharing his vast experiences of the beautiful game.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was a part of the Indian side that won the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy under Dhoni, recently heaped praise on the Chennai Super Kings captain and compared him to a film director for having the ability to select the perfect individuals for different roles in the team.

"Dhoni is not a captain, he is a director. He is actually a very, very good movie director like he is a director for the game. What does a movie director do? He picks characters and he picks the exact cast for that character. So, I think Dhoni, in his head, he picks a character, he knows where the character fits, who is the person for the character, and gives that person the exact situation to play his role to the tee. That's what I think he did with Suresh Raina [in the 2011 ODI World Cup]," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

Ravichandran Ashwin set to play his third ODI World Cup

The Tamil Nadu spinner played only a couple of matches in the 2011 ODI World Cup but in 2015, he played a much bigger role, as he finished with 13 wickets in eight games. The Indian team management decided to go in with two wrist spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the 2019 edition of the showpiece event and Ashwin had to miss out.

When the selectors announced the 15-man squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup, Ashwin wasn't picked as India went with Kuldeep, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel as the only spinners in the side. However, Axar suffered an injury during the Asia Cup 2023, and Ashwin grabbed his opportunity during the recent ODI series against Australia and replaced the injured left-arm spinner in the World Cup side.