Former India head coach Gary Kirsten revealed why MS Dhoni was an outstanding leader while also describing his partnership with the CSK skipper as the “most unlikely” one. Dhoni was the captain of the Indian team when Kirsten was named head coach of the Men in Blue, and the two worked together to help India win the 2011 ODI World Cup.
“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. And Dhoni meanwhile, was a 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 started enjoying cricket as well,” Kirsten said while speaking to Adam Collins on ‘The Final Word cricket podcast’ show on YouTube.
Kirsten praised Dhoni for being an outstanding leader in a culture where it is all too easy to lose focus given the superstar status accorded to Indian players. Kirsten was Team India’s head coach from 2008 to 2011. “MS and I formed the most unlikely partnership of captain-coach you will ever imagine in the international game, and we end up having this incredible journey together,” Kirsten added.
