In the game of cricket, there aren't many greater leaders than Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And to be a great leader, there are several virtues that an individual has to possess.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, before the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday, reflected on what makes Dhoni such a fine leader of men.
Speaking in the presence of the great Kapil Dev, Pathan said that apart from his fine cricketing acumen, Dhoni excels as a captain because of how comfortable he makes his players, especially the youngsters.
"Anybody can go up to Dhoni freely and have a chat. Even if it's your first day in the team, there's no reason for you to hesitate. Dhoni makes sure he gives you respect and full attention when he's interacting with you. Just because you're a junior, that doesn't mean he will not take you seriously or show disrespect. That's what makes him so great," said Pathan.
Table-toppers CSK take on bottom-placed MI at their adopted home ground in Pune on Saturday. MI skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field. The visitors made two changes to their playing XI, with out of form West Indian Kieron Pollard finding himself on the bench.
CSK, on the other hand went in with the same side. Dhoni, too, said that he would've liked to field first. Both captains reckoned that the Pune pitch would remain the same for the 40 overs.
Here are the playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah.
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir.
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 "Irfan Pathan (L) and MS Dhoni")
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