“MS and I formed the most unlikely partnership” - Gary Kirsten on his legendary association with Dhoni
Former India head coach Gary Kirsten described his partnership with MS Dhoni as the "most unlikely" one. He, however, asserted that they had an incredible journey together.
Kirsten was appointed India’s head coach towards the end of 2007. He formed a legendary association with Dhoni, who took over as India’s white-ball captain following the team’s disastrous showing under Rahul Dravid at the ODI World Cup in West Indies.
The Kirsten-Dhoni combination has been hailed as one of the greatest coach-captain alliances in international cricket. Apart from building a strong outfit, the pair were at the helm when India lifted the ODI World Cup after 28 years in 2011.
In an interaction on the ‘The Final Word cricket podcast’, Kirsten shed light on his bonding with the legendary keeper-batter and said:
“MS and I formed the most unlikely partnership of captain-coach you will ever imagine in international game, and we end up having this incredible journey together."
"I would go to war with Dhoni by my side."
- Gary Kirsten
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The 55-year-old hailed Dhoni for standing out as a leader in a culture where it is very easy to lose focus given the superstar status accorded to players in India. He elaborated:
"Any coach would want a group of players playing for the name on the front of the shirt and not the name on the back of the shirt. India is a tough place with a lot of hype around individual superstars and you often get lost in what your own personal needs are.
“Dhoni meanwhile was standout as a leader as he was so focused on the team doing well he wanted to win trophies and have great success and he was very public about that. And that pulled a lot of other guys into line and quite simply Sachin (Tendulkar) started enjoying cricket as well.”
While India suffered a debacle in the 2007 ODI World Cup, Dhoni turned around the team’s fortunes, leading a young side to victory in the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa in the same year.
Gary Kirsten’s coaching career
Kirsten, regarded as one of South Africa’s finest batters, was Team India’s head coach from 2008 to 2011. He ended his stint with India on an ultimate high as the Men in Blue lifted the ODI World Cup at home.
Despite the famous triumph, the Proteas legend did not renew his contract, stating that he wanted to spend time with his family.
The former Proteas opener coached South Africa from 2011 to 2013. He is currently the batting coach and mentor of the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans (GT).