"Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation captain" - Aakash Chopra on what makes MS Dhoni different from others
Aakash Chopra has said that MS Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation captain for Team India and there can be very few leaders like him.
Dhoni captained India to wins in the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. The Men in Blue have not won a global event since the talismanic leader gave up captaincy.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked about his thoughts on India having had a plethora of captains in the last year or so and what makes MS Dhoni different from the others. The former Indian opener was all praise for Dhoni, saying:
Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation captain. Firstly, his performance was amazing and then his presence was amazing. He was an inspiration, he was an institution, he still is an institution.
Chopra added that people run out of adjectives while praising the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper, elaborating:
"You get very few people like him. When such people come, it is an era. So it was MS Dhoni's era. He was a special player and a special captain. Phenomenal, you fall short of words for MS Dhoni, he is that kind of a player."
The Men in Blue won 110 of the 200 ODIs they played under Dhoni's captaincy, with 16 matches either ending in a tie or not yielding a result. The wicketkeeper-batter won 41 and lost 28 out of the 72 T20Is he skippered.
"We get a new captain in every match or series" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra acknowledged that India have had too many captains lately, observing:
"It is true, we change the captain every day. We get a new captain in every match or series. The truth is that Rohit Sharma was the captain in the last ODI series but before that it was Shikhar Dhawan."
The reputed commentator highlighted that Shikhar Dhawan, who was India's regular stand-in ODI skipper in Rohit Sharma's absence, has even been dropped from the side, stating:
"Now Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped. He was the captain two series ago for three consecutive series. So you are absolutely right, we have changed a lot of captains."
India's leading run-scorer since 2020, Shikhar Dhawan was snubbed from ODI squad against Sri Lanka. https://t.co/rSrqK7A4gP
Dhawan had an underwhelming 2022 with the bat, scoring 688 runs at a below-par average of 34.41 and a lowly strike rate of 74.21 in 22 ODIs. With Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill starring with the bat at the top of the order in the last few games, the veteran opener was dropped from India's ODI squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka.