MS Dhoni never lets his emotions get the better of him: Ricky Ponting

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has lauded MS Dhoni for his temperament and praised him for not letting any situation overawe him. Dhoni, throughout his career, has hardly shown his emotions on the field of play, barring an odd incident here and there. The 39-year-old is referred to as the ‘Captain Cool’ and his calm demeanour has helped him garner numerous laurels in his career.

Ponting, the 2003 and 2007 World Cup-winning skipper, said that Dhoni’s qualities of staying calm and composed helped the latter grow as Team India’s skipper. Ponting, who’s currently the head coach of Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), stated that unlike Dhoni, he strained to stay in complete control of his emotions and got carried away at times.

MS Dhoni always seemed to have this knack, says Ponting

“He [MS Dhoni] never seems to let his emotions get the better of him, which is a really good trait in a leader — as hard as I tried when I was on the field, I could never quite stay in complete control of my emotions,” Ponting was quoted as saying to cricket.com.au.

Ponting mentioned that Dhoni has eyes of a hawk and hardly missed out on spotting talents and getting the best out of players. The retired Aussie skipper is also aware of Dhoni’s fandom, having worked with IPL teams in India for quite a while now.

“Indian teams always seemed to lift when he was captain. He always seemed to have this knack to be able to get the best out of his players. You knew that he had things under control, and his teammates loved that about him,” he stated.

“I spend a lot of time in India now, so I know how revered he is in that part of the world. Even when you travel around the world and you listen to cricket fans, they talk about Dhoni and his leadership and how calm he seems to be under pressure on the field,” Ponting added.

Moreover, Ponting is looking forward to coaching the Capitals against Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK). After announcing his retirement, the Jharkhand-born Dhoni will be making his comeback to competitive cricket after a gap of more than 14 months.