MS Dhoni was out there to destroy whatever came in front of him: Michael Holding

Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler, has lauded MS Dhoni for not getting too excited when the latter was the skipper of the Indian team. Dhoni took over as India’s captain in the 2007 T20 World Cup and last led the Men in Blue against Afghanistan in the 2018 Asia Cup. It goes without saying that he’s one of India’s most successful captains.

Holding mentioned that Dhoni, instead of getting overawed by the situation, used to calm down the players, having a chat with them. Dhoni, himself was named as ‘Captain Cool’ owing to his ability to soak in pressure and helping his team out of precarious positions. The 66-year-old Holding put forth his opinions while speaking on his official YouTube channel.

MS Dhoni looked like a maverick, says Holding

“When he was captaining, you never saw him get excited. If things seemed to be slipping, he would call his players, have a chat calmly and then they would go back to wherever they were and things would automatically change, that was the kind of influence he had,” Holding said.

Holding stated that Dhoni reminded him of a ‘maverick’ when the Jharkhand-born forayed into international cricket back in 2004. The wicketkeeper made his debut against Bangladesh in Chattogram and after his maiden century against Pakistan in Vizag there was no stopping the Ranchi boy.

“When Dhoni first started to play ODIs for India that long flowing locks that we call it in the Caribbean, he looked like a maverick. He looked like someone who came out there just to destroy whatever comes in front of him and he pretty much did that,” he stated.

Holding was also in awe of Dhoni’s six-hitting prowess. “Throughout his career he hit 229 sixes (in ODIs). When you think of those numbers you must be think he must have played for 40 years to have hit so many sixes and fours. But that is the nature of the man,” Holding added.

On August 15, Dhoni, after serving India for 16 years, retired from the highest level. The now 39-year-old will next be seen, playing for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL).