Australian great Greg Chappell has rated former India captain MS Dhoni as “one of the sharpest cricket minds”, saying his decision-making skills set him apart from his great contemporaries. Chappell, who had a tumultuous two-year tenure as India’s chief coach from 2005 to 2007, had often spoken highly of the two-time World Cup-winning captain who ended his glorious career as one of the country’s greatest players.
The Australian cited the example of Dhoni while lamenting the absence of natural environments that once played a huge part in the development of players in strong cricket nations.
“The developed cricket countries have lost the natural environments that were a big part of their development structure in bygone eras. In those environments, young cricketers learned from watching good players and then emulating them in pick-up matches with family and friends,” Chappell wrote in ESPNcricinfo.
“The Indian subcontinent still has many towns where coaching facilities are rare and youngsters play in streets and on vacant land without the interference of formal coaching. This is where many of their current stars have learned the game.” One of them is Dhoni, who came from the town of Ranchi in Jharkhand.
“MS Dhoni, with whom I worked in India, is a good example of a batter who developed his talent and learned to play in this fashion.
“By competing against more experienced individuals on a variety of surfaces early in his development, Dhoni developed the decision-making and strategic skills that have set him apart from many of his peers. His is one of the sharpest cricket minds I have encountered,” Chappell said.
