Matthew Hayden still credits Dhoni's ability to change games

Former Australian swashbuckling opener Matthew Hayden, who is in the country for the promotion of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) opened up about playing alongside the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. The southpaw in the event suggested that MS Dhoni still has a lot of cricket left in him at the International level.

The Australian was part of the Chennai Super Kings’ squad in the 2010 Indian Premier League finals against Mumbai Indians, where CSK outplayed the Indians by a margin of 22 runs to win their maiden IPL trophy. The duo have had several memories during his stint with the side, with the southpaw praising Dhoni for his decisions behind the stumps.

In the recent times, the Indian limited overs wicket-keeper has been criticized a lot, with his 114 balls knock for 54 runs while chasing a target of 190 against the Windies in the 4th ODI of the five-match series. The Australian suggested that MS Dhoni knows if his time is up, and at that time he automatically will retire from the game of cricket.

“If MS feels that moment has come, I think he will go. I still see him as a player who can change games and he is not the one who will hang around when he believes it’s done,” said the 45-year-old.

MS Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist

Hayden then went on to compare Dhoni to the former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, who made an instantaneous decision to retire from the game following a crucial drop catch in the 2008 Border-Gavaskar Series against India. The southpaw went on to compare his opening wicket partner with the spill of water from the glass at the drop of coins.

“The life of a cricketer is like a glass full of water and coins are being dropped into it. Then comes a moment when the water spills at the drop of one more coin – Gilchrist’s was like that.” said the former Australian opener.

The 37-year-old can still look to contribute to Indian cricket for a couple of years if he finds a way to make the most of his enviable experience so as to add to this last lap of his international career. Dhoni still remains as one of India’s best wicket-keepers in the country, with his tactical genius behind the stumps influential.