Michael Holding praises ‘maverick’ MS Dhoni; here’s what West Indies legend said

Bengaluru: West Indies pace legend Michael Holding has heaped praise on former India captain MS Dhoni, who recently retired from international cricket. Holding said when Dhoni arrived on the international scene, he looked like a “maverick” who came to “destroy” whatever came in front of him.

“When Dhoni first started to play ODIs for India that long flowing locks that we call it in the Caribbean, he looked like a maverick. He looked like someone who came out there just to destroy whatever comes in front of him and he pretty much did that,” Holding said on his YouTube channel.

“As he grew some grey around his temple area then he had to tone it down a bit and he was lot more controlled with his batting. Anyone watching MS Dhoni in the middle would know he was always in control, unflappable, never ever he looked out of control,” he added.

“Throughout his career he hit 229 sixes (in ODIs). When you think of those numbers you must be thinking he must have played for 40 years to have hit so many sixes and fours. But that is the nature of the man,” he said.

The West Indian great also praised Dhoni’s captaincy skills. “What a captain he was, how successful he was...When he was captaining, you never saw him get excited.”

“If things seemed to be slipping, he would call his players, have a chat calmly and then they would go back to wherever they were and things would automatically change, that was the kind of influence he had.”

“What a career this man had, a fantastic one. This man made almost 5,000 Test runs and remember, he's not a pure batsman, he's a wicket-keeper. Over such a long career, to be able keep wickets and do such a fantastic job is commendable.”

“To be bending down for so many years, keeping himself fit through all these years. He has close to 11,000 runs in ODIs...,” Holding said.

Dhoni’s last match for India was in July 2019 when featured in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in England. He is now in the UAE to play IPL 2020 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).