New Delhi: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is already a legend, and his cool and calm demeanour on and off the field has won the wicketkeeper-batsman a legion of fans including current and former cricketers. Although Dhoni is nearing the end of his glorious career, he remains one of India’s most explosive and dependable batsman who will leave a gaping hole in the Indian One-Day and T20 teams after he calls it quits, according to legendary Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist.
Gilchrist claimed Dhoni’s impending retirement from the shorter formats of the game will be a massive loss for Indian cricket. He added that it will like the exit of other legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
“Dhoni has already started phasing himself out, he is no longer in the Test team. But his exit will certainly leave a void. It will be similar to when the big four (Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman) left or when all the Australian legends left. Dhoni will leave a big hole, both on and off the field. People undervalue the experience and calm he brings on and off the field,” Cricketnext.com quoted Gilchrist as saying at the ‘Royal Stag Barrel Select Perfect Strokes’ event in New Delhi on Thursday.
According to Gilchrist, Dhoni is an impact player and flexible enough to play at various positions in the middle order from number 3 to number 7. He added that Dhoni’s experience is extremely crucial for the team and the younger players benefit a lot from it.
Dhoni grew up idolising Gilchrist and had once said he would “pay to watch him play”. When Gilchrist came to know about Dhoni’s comment, he had replied that he “will pay to watch MS Dhoni bat”. “MS isn’t the next Gilchrist, he is the first MS Dhoni,” the Australian had said.
While Dhoni has retired from Test cricket, he is still an integral part of the ODI and T20 teams. The dasher from Jharkhand has shocked the cricket world by announcing his retirement from Tests in the middle of Australia tour on December 30, 2014, after the drawn Test in Melbourne.
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