'It is very difficult to go beyond MS Dhoni' - Kevin Pietersen while picking the greatest captain ever

MS Dhoni and his captaincy has always been one of the best topics of discussions over the years for the way he led the team. He was named the Indian skipper for the first time in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, the same year when the team was knocked out of the 50-over mega event. Not many expected India to do well in the shortest format, especially in the absence of the stalwarts like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

But Dhoni’s inspired leadership led the team to a historic title and it changed Indian cricket forever. Dhoni also led India to number 1 in Tests for the first time ever and then won the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy to become the only captain in the history of cricket. Add three IPL trophies and two Champions League T20 titles and Dhoni’s captaincy traits are highlighted even more.

This is the same reason why the former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has picked the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman as the greatest captain ever.

Pietersen highlights the weight of expectations with which Dhoni led India and CSK

While speaking to Star Sports’ Cricket Connected show, he pointed out the expectations the Indian fans have from their cricket team and how it is tough to lead the side. He also highlighted the life he lived while leading the country and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL.

“It will be very difficult just with the weight of expectation to go against MS Dhoni because of what everybody expects from him, how he has to live his life and what he has been through captaining India and then captaining the CSK,” Pietersen when asked to pick the greatest captain ever in the sport.

As far as MS Dhoni is concerned, he gave up captaincy from the ODIs and T20Is in January 2017 and handed over the baton to Virat Kohli. Since then, he played only as a player and also scored a century against England in Indore in the same month. He hasn’t played an international game since the World Cup semi-final and the debates around his immediate future continue.