Yograj Singh Takes U-turn To Praise MS Dhoni As ‘Aggressive And Motivated Captain’

The former World Cup-winning captain of the Indian side, MS Dhoni, has praised the former spin all-rounder of the national side Yuvraj Sigh’s father, Yograj Singh, as the latter has lauded the wicket-keeper batter by addressing him as ‘fearless’ and a ‘motivated captain.’

In the past, Yograj has blamed MS Dhoni on many occasions for leaving out his son from the national side, despite the former performing at his best with both bat and ball in hand. In a recent video that went viral, Singh has praised the Ranchi-born for his performance and leadership skills.

“I find Dhoni as a very motivated captain who can tell people what to do. The best thing about Dhoni was that he could read the wicket, (and he) can tell bowlers where to bowl.” Yograj expressed during a recent interaction on ‘Unfiltered by Samdish.’

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It was a thrilling start to the captaincy career of MS Dhoni, who helped India lift the 2007 T20 World Cup in the maiden edition in South Africa as they defeated Pakistan in the final of the competition at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Yograj Singh has a rare appreciation for MS Dhoni

One of the biggest decisions of his leadership was to promote the current Test and ODI leader of the side, Rohit Sharma, into the opening position during the opening game of the 2013 Champions Trophy in England against South Africa. It changed the entire dynamics of Indian cricket, as the Nagpur-born went on to break so many records.

MS Dhoni also helped India to win the Champions Trophy in 2013 and ended the drought of the ODI World Cup in 2011 by beating Sri Lanka in the final at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Even when the superstar of the batting department, Virat Kohli, struggled in the Test format against James Anderson in the 2014 series in England, the Jharkhand captain showed faith in the youngster.

“What I liked the most about him was that he was a fearless man. If you remember in Australia, he was hit on the grill by Mitchell Johnson, and he didn’t move a bit, he stood there, and the next ball, he pulled him for a six. Aise log kaafi kam hote hai (There are very few people like him).” Yograj Singh highlighted.

MS Dhoni is the sixth leading run-getter for the blue brigade in the ODI format with the help of 10599 runs in 294 innings at an average of 50.23 and a strike rate of 87.13, shouldering on nine centuries and 73 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 183 runs.

Even in the longest format of the game, the right-handed batter managed 4876 runs in 90 Tests at an average of 38.09 and a strike rate of nearly 60 with the help of six centuries and 33 fifties. Across formats, MS Dhoni has smashed over 17000 runs in 523 innings at an average of 44.74.

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In the previous interview, Yograj Singh claimed that his son Yuvraj could have played for four or five years easily if not for Dhoni.

“That man (MS Dhoni) has destroyed the life of my son, who could have played four to five years more. I dare everyone to give birth to a son like Yuvraj. Even Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag have said in the past that there won’t be another Yuvraj Singh. India should award him the Bharat Ratna for playing with cancer and winning the World Cup for the country.” The former Indian bowler was mentioned on Zee Switch’s YouTube channel.