IPL 2016: Kevin Pietersen praises MS Dhoni's captaincy, hails team spirit
There is nothing in the world of cricket that MS Dhoni has not won as a captain. Handed over the captaincy duties out of the blue back in 2007, Dhoni has miraculously turned out to be one of the best and most successful captains India have ever produced.
From thinking out of the box to remaining ice-cool under pressure, Dhoni has brought about a radical change in India's fortunes during his tenure. His captaincy records with the now defunct IPL franchise the Chennai Super Kings has been just as stellar with CSK having been one of the most successful teams.
Dhoni who is now widely respected around the world for his achievements is a long shot from the long-haired maverick when he first burst onto the scene. In fact, he is now currently at the helm of a franchise which boasts of many current and former international captains like Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Kevin Pietersen.
Speaking on how Dhoni is leading such a strong team comprising many leaders, Pietersen has said, “It’s fun because you are able to draw on resources that you sometimes would never have had and you can draw on experience. So it’s a good thing and the great thing about it is that there is no one who pushes to do anything or strives to be the best leader in the team.
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"We all just get on and just play. MS (Dhoni) is the skipper, he makes the decisions. All we can do is hand down information that he can use if he wants to use and we back whatever decision he makes. It doesn’t really mean that each one of us are captains on the day.
"I actually think that the eleven that take the field have to captain themselves. They have got a responsibility to MS and to the coaches, to captain themselves and the team. So there might be four ‘C’s next to certain names in the team, but I actually think that in T20 cricket where every ball is an event, everyone is a captain.”
Emphasizing on the fact that all the team members are gelling together well, Pietersen said, “It’s been outstanding (how the team has come together). Everyone has got along real well. They are all mixing together. It’s actually been an easy transition, it feels that we have been playing each other for ages. It’s been brilliant!”
This is not the first time that Pietersen has praised Dhoni's captaincy. During their opening game of the season against the Mumbai Indians, Pietersen who was wired up was asked, "How does it feel to be in a team with so many captains?" "There is only one captain. He is wearing gloves and purple pads,'' had been his reply.
Pietersen had also praised Dhoni for his captaincy back in 2013 when he had said, "The reason why CSK are so successful is because MS is such a clever skipper in Indian conditions."
KP was snapped up by the Rising Pune Supergiants for a staggering $514,500 at the IPL 2016 auctions. MS Dhoni had appeared to be pleased with the acquisition and had praised Pietersen as a key player.
"Again, you know people are often judged by what comes in the media, but when you actually meet them they are totally different. I don't think there will be any issue with discipline," Dhoni had said at an IPL promotional event in Delhi.
"As I said, KP is a fantastic player, someone who is very aggressive and at the same time very expressive on the field. It is good to have him in the side," he said.