VVS Laxman explains why MS Dhoni is respected not only in India but around the world

Bengaluru: Former India batsman VVS Laxman has explained why MS Dhoni is respected not only in India but around the world. Praising the former captain, Laxman said the Ranchi wicketkeeper-batsman had inspired millions of Indians. He made these comments on Star Sports’ ‘Cricket Connected’ show.

Laxman said, “Love comes from the cricketing fans for your cricketing achievements, but respect comes by the way you have conducted yourself, by the way you carried yourself. And I always felt that captaining the Indian team is probably the toughest challenge for anyone, you know, because there’s so much of expectations from everyone around the world.”

“All the Indians around the world want the Indian team to do well, so there’s a lot of responsibility on the Indian team captain. But MS Dhoni has always been emotionally detached from the results,” he added.

The former Hyderabad batsman continued, “The way he has inspired millions of Indians, not only the sports fans, but millions of Indians on how to conduct and how to become an ambassador of your country, how to carry yourself in the public domain. And that’s why he’s so respected.”

“When you see the social media posts, it’s not only from the former players or the cricketing fans, it’s from all the Indians, whether you take film stars, socialites, esteemed businessmen, politicians. Around the world, all the former cricketers, all the cricketing fraternity have thanked MS Dhoni for his contribution not to Indian cricket, but world cricket,” he added.

Dhoni retired from international cricket on August 15. Now, he is gearing up for IPL 2020 to be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10.