'It’s a skill that I potentially never had' - When Rahul Dravid lauded MS Dhoni's tactical mindset

Former India captain MS Dhoni, to date, is regarded as one of the best finishers to have ever played the game of cricket. He has batted at the lower-middle order for a large part of his career. His statistics while playing the game at No. 5 and No. 6 are astounding as he went on to achieve great heights while chasing a total in white-ball cricket.

Many people, though, might not give Rahul Dravid enough credit for first deploying the wicketkeeper-batter in the role of a finisher. Dravid, the current head coach of the Indian national team, had notably, once shared his thoughts on MS Dhoni and his game strategy during the final stages of a match.

In a conversation with former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo, Dravid lauded Dhoni’s mindset while playing a game. Here is what Dravid had said about the captain cool:

“When you watch Mahendra Singh Dhoni play at the back end of the game or at his best, (when he was at his best), you always got the feeling that, ‘Hey, he is doing something really important. But he is playing like the result does not really matter to him.’ I think you need to have that or you need to train it. I think it’s a skill that I potentially never had. I mean when it mattered to me deeply, it mattered to me, the consequences, you know?”

“But I think it would be really interesting to ask Mahendra Singh Dhoni whether this is something that’s come naturally to him or something that he’s potentially worked on. And if he has the answer to what it is, then he should market that! But that’s what great finishers, at the back end, or guys who can bowl at the deaths, they’re able to do. They’re able to get themselves into that frame of mind.”

MS Dhoni retired from international cricket on 15 August 2020

Rahul Dravid’s comments came back in June 2020, just weeks before the legendary cricketer announced his retirement. August 15, which is today, marks two years of the wicketkeeper-batter’s retirement from international cricket. Dhoni’s last international game was the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, where he was run out, a moment that every Indian cricket fan would remember for ages to come.