“He always talks about Dhoni” - Former CSK star’s father massively credits legendary captain

India Cricket - Source: Getty
MS Dhoni played his 18th consecutive IPL season in the recent 2025 edition [Credit: Getty]

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali's father, Munir Ali, credited legendary captain MS Dhoni for his son's growth as a cricketer. Moeen played under Dhoni for most of the 2021 to 2023 IPL seasons with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

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The franchise won the title in 2021 and 2023, with Dhoni leading the side and the England all-rounder playing a massive role. In those two seasons, Moeen combined for 481 runs and 15 wickets in 30 outings.

In a recent interview, via the New Indian Express, Munir Ali opened up on his son's IPL stint, saying:

"Playing IPL was a great move for Moeen. First he played for RCB and got a chance to spend time with Virat (Kohli). Then he moved to CSK and learnt a lot from Dhoni - the calmness, captaincy skills. I would say playing at No 3 and getting an opportunity with the ball helped him thrive at CSK. He always talks about Dhoni how much he learnt from him."
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He added:

"He enjoyed playing for CSK. He loved his stay in Chennai as everyone loves CSK players there. We still get messages for him on social media from fans, which make us really happy and proud."

Moeen started his IPL career with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2018. After three seasons with the franchise, he moved to CSK for the next four years until 2024.

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The 38-year-old moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of IPL 2025 and played six matches for them in this year's edition.

"He found that Dhoni was always calm no matter what the situation was" - Munir Ali

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Munir Ali credited MS Dhoni for helping his son develop game awareness and a sense of calmness at all times in a match. The England all-rounder scored over 800 runs and picked up 25 wickets in his four seasons with CSK from 2021 to 2024.

"As a captain he found that Dhoni was always calm no matter what the situation was. When he came back, he captained Birmingham Phoenix to the final. The commentators always talked about Moeen's calmness in difficult situations," said Munir Ali (via the aforementioned source).
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He concluded:

"That is one important thing he picked up from the former India captain. If a captain is calm and relaxed then the team is calm and relaxed and that was a life lesson for Moeen. Another thing he learnt from Dhoni was assessing the game and going accordingly."

Dhoni remains the IPL's most successful captain with 136 wins in 235 games, including five titles as CSK skipper. He relinquished CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 season.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
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