"Nature has truly blessed him" - Former opener heaps praise on MS Dhoni's leadership post Asia Cup 2025

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has heaped praise on cricket legend MS Dhoni’s leadership. Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020 and holds the record for leading the national team in 332 matches across formats, the most by any Indian captain. During his tenure as captain, India lifted the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Dhawan recently appeared on Raj Shamani’s YouTube podcast, released on Tuesday, September 30, where he spoke highly of the former Indian skipper. The 39-year-old said:

“Dhoni bhai is very relaxed. I feel that he is naturally very calm and never chases anything, even in leadership. Mentally, he is very, very strong, and I feel he is also highly elevated. His ethics are very strong, his values are very strong, and nature has truly blessed him. He has nurtured players, created champions, even when he won the first T20 World Cup, he was very composed. The qualities of a leader were very evident in him, and of course, with time and experience, those qualities only grew stronger.”

Dhawan also added that MS Dhoni supported him throughout his career by backing him and said:

“He has supported me a lot. He gave me a lot of support. For example, giving chances in matches. If things weren’t going well, he knew that even if it wasn’t working at the moment, this player has the potential to deliver, to win the match. He knew this player could be a match-winner. Even if the player wasn’t performing for four or five matches, he would give them a long run. That’s the kind of captain he is. When you are a captain, you should back your players, and he did exactly that.”

MS Dhoni was last seen in action during IPL 2025, representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He scored 196 runs in 13 innings, while the team finished at the bottom of the points table.

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“Drawing that series was a big achievement" - Shikhar Dhawan’s massive praise for India Test skipper

During the same podcast, Shikhar Dhawan also lauded Shubman Gill. The 26-year-old, in his first assignment as Test captain, helped India secure a 2-2 draw in the five-match series against England. Reacting to Gill’s captaincy, Dhawan said:

“Very good, because as soon as he got the captaincy, he handled that pressure so well and performed so strongly. Drawing that series was a big achievement. So this series was a very big deal. The way they won the matches was incredible. It was a great captaincy. I am sure it is just the start of a journey for him. He will learn so much from these test matches, and as he progresses, he has the composure and aggression. With time, he will get even more mature.”

Shubman Gill will return to action on October 2, when India host the West Indies in the first match of the two-Test series in Ahmedabad.