'MS Dhoni would clap if a good ball got hit for a six' - Muttiah Muralitharan on his CSK captain
Former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has revealed that MS Dhoni would appreciate the bowlers if they had bowled a good delivery even if it had been hit for a six. The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner lauded the franchise's captain for never admonishing the bowlers in public.
Muttiah Muralitharan shared experiences from his cricketing career with Sri Lanka and in the IPL with CSK during an interaction with Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on the latter's YouTube show 'DRS With Ash'.
Ravichandran Ashwin asked Muttiah Muralitharan about his experiences while playing under MS Dhoni for CSK. The SRH mentor responded that the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning Indian captain's methods as a leader were appreciable even though he was relatively inexperienced at the job.
"Definitely he was a young captain, I would say. It was in the 2007 World Cup that he captained and won."
Muttiah Muralitharan disclosed that the CSK captain would let the bowlers set their own fields and would intervene only if the results were not as expected.
"But his theories are very nice to see. Because he will give the ball to the bowler and tell him to set the field and bowl. If it wasn't working, then he would ask them to give a chance to the field he sets."
The highest wicket-taker in Test cricket disclosed that MS Dhoni would applaud the bowlers if they had bowled a good delivery even if it had been hit for a six.
"He will clap if a good ball gets hit for a six. He will tell the bowler that it's a good ball even if the batsman had hit you for a six. Batsmen too have the talent."
Muttiah Muralitharan commended MS Dhoni for never reprimanding the bowlers in public and giving them advice in one-to-one meetings, calling it one of the reasons behind the latter's success as a captain.
"So with those kinds of appreciations, he will call you alone to tell you what's needed, instead of doing it in public. Because of those qualities, he has been a successful captain"
Muttiah Muralitharan on warming the bench for CSK
Muttiah Muralitharan praised MS Dhoni for seeking everyone's opinion before arriving at the final decision.
"He has the ability to think calmly. He has these plus points. Even when he was young, he would listen to advice. He will listen to people and then he will make the decision at the end of the day. That's how he used to captain."
He added that the CSK captain's focus was on picking players who could turn out to be match-winners.
"But more than that, he wouldn't care about how players bat in the IPL. But he wants the players who can win the match for you."
Muttiah Muralitharan mentioned that he was never disheartened even though he had to warm the benches for CSK in a few matches, with the team composition in mind.
"That's how he went around with his business. In IPL, only four foreigners can play. So team composition is there. Some matches need all-rounders, some don't. I too have sat out many matches. But I have never been unsatisfied."
Muttiah Muralitharan acknowledged that playing in the IPL was tougher than playing for the country as only four foreigners could be part of the playing XI and one had to accept that the conditions would define who would make the cut.
"That is part of the game. Because playing IPL is difficult than playing for your country. Because with country, you know you will perform. You will have the confidence that you will get the ball, you will play."
"But in IPL, no matter how well you have done, you might have to sit out for the sake of team composition. So that's part and parcel of IPL. You have to accept it and go on."
Muttiah Muralitharan played 40 matches for CSK in the three years he was part of the franchise between 2008 and 2010. He managed to pick up 40 wickets in these matches, at a decent average of 24.85 and an exceptional economy rate of 6.37.