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MS Dhoni is currently with Virat Kohli’s Team India as mentor for the ongoing T20 World Cup. Ahead of India’s World Cup opener match against Pakistan, young players like Varun Chakravarthy, Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan have been seeking guidance from the maestro on the sidelines during warm-up games. Not just youngsters, he was seen helping the skipper as well. During Aajtak’s ‘Salaam Cricket’ conclave in Dubai, former Indian cricketer and Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate Suresh Raina shared his thoughts on how the four-time IPL winning captain can help Team India.
“When Dhoni used to play in the team he got support from senior cricketers like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Virender Sehwag. If we see this thing now, there are many players who’ll be playing their first World Cup. Thus, these players will have extra pressure due to social media and other things. Dhoni can handle these players and can keep the extra pressure off them which will benefit the team,” Raina said.
Dhoni’s role in choosing the best combination
Dhoni has played cricket on almost all grounds of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Last week, Dhoni helped CSK to clinch their fourth IPL title by beating Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders. The former Indian cricketer feels he can help the captain in choosing the best combination for a particular match after assessing the conditions like he did during IPL.
“Dhoni has played a lot of cricket on these grounds. He knows when and how one player can benefit the team. So he can help the captain to form the best combination for the match,” said Mr. IPL.
Experience against Pakistan
Under Dhoni’s captaincy India have remained unbeaten in five games they have played against the arch-rivals. The southpaw feels that Dhoni knows Pakistan batters inside out and can help the team in planning.
“Dhoni knows about the game of Pakistan players and he very well knows which batter of Pakistan will do what in the game. So the experience of MS Dhoni will be very important if India wins the World Cup,” the 34-year-old concluded.
