Matthew Hayden praised MS Dhoni for his leadership skills as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) reached the IPL 2023 final.
Hayden commended Dhoni, known as ‘Captain Cool,’ for maximizing the potential of the players, particularly in the bowling department, despite facing limitations.
Matthew Hayden praised MS Dhoni
“MS is a magician. He takes someone else’s trash and makes them a treasure. He is a very skillful and positive captain. He said something really interesting which I thought summed up not only his humility and his truth around cricket where he is represented and that is in Tamil Nadu Cricket Association,” Hayden said.
“The alignment between that association and the franchise, how strong that is in terms of building that process. To me, that is MS. There is a systematic way of going through things and working through them. He did that for India and he is doing it for Chennai Super Kings,” he added.
It is noteworthy that Dhoni backed young talents Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande in IPL 2023. Pathirana claimed 17 wickets in 11 matches with an economy rate of 7.72, while Deshpande took 21 wickets in 15 matches with an economy rate of 9.61.
Tushar Deshpande: 21 wickets @ 24.19, Economy – 9.61
Ravindra Jadeja – 19 wickets @ 20.68, Economy – 7.41
Matheesa Pathirana – 17 wickets @ 19.23, Economy – 7.72The game changers for Chennai Super Kings 🔥#TusharDeshPande #RavindraJadeja #MatheesaPathirana #CSK #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/Rmd4md39l7
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) May 24, 2023
Furthermore, Dhoni successfully maximized the performances of Shivam Dube, who scored 386 runs in 15 games, and Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 299 runs in 13 matches.
MS Dhoni recently highlighted the development of Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande during this season, attributing their progress to the support staff’s efforts in bringing out their best performances.
“We try to create an environment and work out what is the strength of a fast bowler. We try to give them confidence and tell them ‘please try to explore your bowling’. We try to motivate them as much as possible. The support staff is there, Bravo and Eric are there. You see the wicket and according to that you keep adjusting the field,” Dhoni said.
CSK is set to take on the defending champions, Gujarat Titans (GT), at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, May 28, in the battle for the IPL 2023 title.
