MS Dhoni had the foresight to see what was going to happen: RP Singh

RP Singh believes that MS Dhoni was a brilliant leader and had the foresight to see what was going to happen. According to Singh, Dhoni was always two steps ahead of the opposition. He recalled an incident during the 2007 T20 World Cup Final, where Dhoni's strategic brilliance helped RP Singh get the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez.

Mohammad Hafeez had a habit of playing away from his body and Dhoni tried to exploit that by keeping a floating slip between the third and fourth slip. Although RP Singh thought it was unusual, it worked and he was amazed at MS Dhoni's tactical masterstroke.

"He (Dhoni) posted a fielder in between the third and fourth slip. I told him that the slip position is not right but he said it’s a floating position. You either have a 3rd slip or 4th slip because a slip fielder rarely jumps and gets the catch. However, MS told me that Hafeez’s release shot was his tendency to play at balls which go away. That was the moment when I thought his knowledge was incredible. He knew how to control the game," RP Singh told Cricket.com.

MS Dhoni was not able to finish off games the way he used to: RP Singh

RP Singh believes that one of the main reasons why MS Dhoni decided to call it quits from international cricket was because he wasn't able to finish off games the way he used to.

The hammer blow came when MS Dhoni scored 50 off 72 balls against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semifinal. Although he scored a half-century, he wasn't able to get India over the line and that proved to be his last game for India.

“In the 2019 World Cup, he may have wanted to bat at number 4 but that was not done because of team management and in the lower order, he barely got a chance until the semi-final game. Oddly, he also was not able to finish off games the way he used to earlier. Maybe that also gave him the signal that he was reaching his end and he needed to take a call on his future,” RP Singh said.

Although MS Dhoni has retired from international cricket, he will continue to lead the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020. The mega event is set to begin from September 19th and will be played in the UAE across three venues - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.