"MS Dhoni trusts his teammates"- Former Indian World Cup winner hails CSK skipper for getting the best out of his team

Former Indian cricketer K Srikkanth feels MS Dhoni is one of the main reasons why the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been able to perform well so far in the IPL 2023 despite their injury woes.

Chennai spent over INR 30 crore to bag the services of both Ben Stokes and Deepak Chahar and injuries to them could have derailed their season big time. However, Srikkanth shed light on how well Ajinkya Rahane has settled into the role at No.3 and feels it is Dhoni who has given him the freedom to express himself.

Speaking to Star Sports, here's what K Srikkanth had to say about the way MS Dhoni has gotten the most out of players like Ajinkya Rahane:

"MS Dhoni trusts his teammates, and that is the reason he backs them to give their best. There are many such case studies, and the latest one is that of Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane himself admitted that Dhoni only asked him to enjoy his game. And then everyone knows what Rahane did after going in the field."

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Apart from MS Dhoni, experts also lauded Hardik Pandya

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif hailed Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya for leading by example against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday. Hardik's valiant knock of 66 arguably proved to be the difference between the two sides as GT won by seven runs.

On this, he stated:

"Hardik played an excellent innings under pressure. He came at number three only because he wanted to play till the end. After struggling in the beginning, Hardik, playing freely in his style, made the first fifty of the season. He knew that it was necessary for him to stay on the wicket because if a new batsman came in the last minute, he could not play the shots."

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh heaped praise on another IPL captain in Sam Curran for his Player of the Match performance (55 off 29) against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.

"Sam Curran has handled the captaincy well in Shikhar's absence. Along with the ball, he also looked impressive with the bat. Punjab team looks strong because of players like Sam."

Captaincy has played a huge role in the fate of the teams in the IPL 2023 season so far and will only get tested further as the league reaches its business end.