IPL 2021: “The King Kong” - Ravi Shastri terms Dhoni the greatest white-ball captain ever

Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has termed MS Dhoni the greatest white-ball captain ever. According to Shastri, Dhoni has achieved almost everything a skipper can achieve in the limited-overs format.

Dhoni and Shastri will work together during India’s campaign at the upcoming T20 World Cup. While Dhoni has been named mentor of the team for the ICC event, the T20 World Cup is likely to be Shastri’s final assignment as Team India coach.

Hailing Dhoni, Shastri said the legendary cricketer’s record as a leader in white-ball cricket speaks for itself.

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The 59-year-old told Fan Code in an interview:

“Dhoni is the greatest white-ball captain ever. Just look at his record in ICC tournaments. What has he not won? IPL, Champions League, all ICC tournaments, two World Cups. There is no one close to him when it comes to white-ball cricket. He has to be the greatest. The King Kong, you can call him in that fashion.”

According to Shastri, Dhoni’s calmness and control as leader separates him from the rest. The former India all-rounder concluded:

“When you see Dhoni captaining a side, and you see Chennai Super Kings (CSK), there’s that assurance and calmness of things in control. The other side might me whacking sixes or fours but you still get the feeling there is this composure and control,”

While Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket last year, he has continued to lead the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL.

Dhoni and CSK will not want to lose momentum: Ravi Shastri

Following their win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), CSK became the first team to qualify for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 playoffs.

Speaking about CSK’s plans for the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday, Shastri stated that Dhoni will be keen on Chenni not losing momentum, even if they make some changes. The Team India coach concluded:

“The ball is in CSK’s court, how they want to play. They have qualified, they are going to finish 1 or 2, there is no question about that. It’s how Dhoni sees it. Does he want to rest players or does he want to try one or two players for the game? The endeavor would be to win. They would start as favorites, but no one likes to lose momentum."

CSK are currently sitting pretty on top of the IPL 2021 points table, having secured 18 points from 11 games.