MS Dhoni is one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket. Team India reached new heights under the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman. Under his leadership, India won two World Cups and countless other trophies. Dhoni also deserves credit for developing a lot of young players.
Regarded as one of the best finishers in the history of the game, Dhoni took a lot of players under his wing. These players went on to become world-class cricketers. That being said, a number of prominent cricketers’ careers have been shortened, perhaps unknowingly, by the actions of MS Dhoni. There has been much discussion about how his influence may have contributed to some players’ careers being somewhat shorter.
- Gautam Gambhir
When MS Dhoni became captain, Gautam Gambhir was in his prime. Gambhir dominated all three formats of the game in 2008 and 2009 and was unstoppable. He gave the team strong starts and was even the top Test batsman at the time. It is impossible to overstate his role in the 2011 World Cup final. Gambhir’s career, like that of many other cricketers, suffered after this tournament. A rift that could never be repaired was caused by Dhoni’s choice to institute the rotation policy for openers during the 2012 CB Series. Many claim that Dhoni dropped Gambhir without a good reason.
- Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh was one the most attacking players to ever play for Team India. Everybody remembers his 6 sixes in over during the 2007 T20 World Cup. He was also the player of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer, and despite winning his battle with the disease, he was not the same player upon his return, as evidenced by his appalling innings in the 2014 World T20 final. But MS Dhoni should have given him more time and confidence. If MS Dhoni had shown a little more confidence, Yuvraj might have recovered his form.
- Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik made his international debut ahead of MS Dhoni but failed to contribute anything of significance. When the management finally decided to give Dhoni a shot at being the wicketkeeper, he excelled almost right away. Dhoni was a great finisher and possessed lightning-quick hands behind the stumps. Now that Dhoni had taken over Karthik’s position as a wicketkeeper, Karthik could only play as a pure batter or a backup keeper. As a pure batsman, Dinesh had a few chances to contribute to the team, but he was never successful.
- Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh is one of the greatest spinners to play for Team India but he also had several ups and downs in his career. After 2011, due to the emergence of talented players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan had to make room and was dropped from the national team. Dhoni started favouring his teammate Ravichandran Ashwin from the Chennai Super Kings and never gave Harbhajan any chance to make a comeback.
- Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan had a great start for Team India and wowed everybody with his bowling. He was also very good with the bat. Unfortunately, injuries never allowed Pathan to become a permanent member of the national team. But whenever he made a comeback, he gave his all. Pathan has stated many times that he should’ve been trusted more. MS Dhoni should’ve given more chances to a talented player like Pathan.
