CHENNAI: The last decade has witnessed quite a few bowlers blossom under the leadership of MS
Dhoni in the colours of
Chennai Super Kings. The likes of Manpreet Gony, Sudeep Tyagi, Mohit Sharma, R Ashwin all emerged as rookies under Dhoni and have made it to the top.
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What's special with mentor Dhoni then? Newly-appointed
CSK
bowling coach
L Balaji
, who himself had represented the franchisee from 2008-10, compares a bowler's evolution under Dhoni to that of a person learning the art of swimming on his own after being pushed into the water by the master.
"Dhoni doesn't involve much and only when a bowler is really thrown into a corner he takes over. He will give you challenges and let you be in your space to understand them. He will not compel a bowler to do something which is not the bowler's style. That I have experienced as a player. On the field, you will be handled by one of the greatest captains. Dhoni will give you the freedom. Apart from that, you will learn to swim on your own under Dhoni's leadership," Balaji said.
With young pace prospects like Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi and Mark Wood set to shoulder the bowling load, former CSK cricketer
S Badrinath
mentioned that he "wouldn't be surprised" if Dhoni again "produces cricketers" like Gony and Mohit.
"MS has the capabilities to produce (talented) cricketers. Someone like a Gony or Mohit, they went on to become the cricketers they were and it was MS who produced such cricketers. I wouldn't be surprised if MS produces such cricketers again. He analyses and assigns them specific roles and that is what makes MS standout as a leader. He identifies these cricketers, persists with them and ends up producing them," Badrinath said during a Star Sports event at the
Don Bosco
(Egmore) school on Thursday.
India cricketer
Ambati Rayudu, who will don the yellows for the first time in his
IPL career, said Dhoni was a "born leader" and lauded the former India skipper's ability to pick the right options.
"He has been successful and won two World Cups for India. What more can a captain do. I think he has a knack of picking players and keeping the dressing room atmosphere really conducive to play good cricket. He is a born leader and has it in him naturally," said the 32-year-old batsman.