3 reasons why MS Dhoni is India's most valuable ODI player of all time

When MS Dhoni made his debut against Bangladesh in 2004, who'd have thought that the man who wielded his willow like a lumberjack will go on to become the fifth Indian to score 10,000 ODI runs. Moreover, he has marked his name as one of the greatest players to play the game. He has been a great entertainer and a humble ambassador of the game.

However, the world has witnessed the destructive batsman from Ranchi go on to play some of the most important knocks for India in limited-overs cricket. While his contribution to Indian cricket is undeniable, he has been often overlooked in the discussion of the best of the best. While it’s not easy to get ahead of a ‘god’ or a ‘king’, Dhoni has manged to do it successfully.

He's India's greatest limited-overs MVP and here are 3 reasons why.

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#3 The best finisher in the game

ICC World Twenty20 India 2016: India v Australia

There hasn't been a cricketer in the game who could finish games like MS Dhoni has done for India. He has had to adjust his batting style with time and has lost bit of flamboyancy, but he has sustained and has been relevant, making full use of his experience.

MS Dhoni has made finishing games feel like a spontaneous happening for a good part of two decades. The prime example being his exploits at the world cup final in 2011. His 91* and his match winning six will never be forgotten by the people who witnessed his masterclass on that day. As Ian Chappell said, “Bevan finished matches with fours, Dhoni does so with sixes.”

In fact, he averages 99.85 in successful run chases for India, which is more than anyone else in the world.

Highest batting average in successful chases in ODIs (min.25 inns):99.85 MS Dhoni99.04 Virat Kohli🙏🙏🙏#AUSvIND

— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) January 15, 2019

This is one of the reasons why he is India's most valuable player ever.

#2 His wicket-keeping skills are as good as his batting skills

MS Dhoni in action against New Zealand

Besides being the best finisher in the game, he has served India for over a decade as a wicket-keeper, all along being one of the safest hands in cricket. He is quicker with stumpings than lightning itself, and street smart with everything he does from behind the stumps.

Being 3rd in the list of most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in international cricket, only behind Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist, he'd have served India well even with lesser batting skills. The country has been blessed to have in him a wicket-keeper who is a match winner with the bat in hand.

Dhoni has consistently outdone everyone else as the best wicketkeeper-batsman, showing unbelievable longevity. He sits only behind Kumar Sangakkara in the list of wicket-keepers who have scored the most runs in ODIs. Dhoni is undoubtedly a masterclass with both the bat and gloves in hand.

#1 He is India’s most successful captain till date

Winning Captain's Press Conference - 2011 ICC World Cup

Dhoni will not only go down as one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in cricket history, but also as one of the most successful captains. His biggest contribution to Indian cricket undoubtedly has come as the skipper of the Indian cricket team.

If Sourav Ganguly, along with John Wright, built an Indian team that established India as a force in world cricket, it was Dhoni's team which announced Indian dominance in world cricket.

Under Dhoni, India won the first world T20 in 2007, the CB series in Australia in 2008, became the no.1 test team in 2009, won the 50-over world cup in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013. He captained India in 200 ODI matches, with the Indian team winning 110 of those matches. It is certainly a fact that he is India's most successful captain.

Yet, his contribution as captain is beyond numbers. It will be an understatement to say that he has played a key role in the transformation of Indian cricket.