Former England captain Eoin Morgan said that overseas stars like Ben Stokes enjoy playing under the captaincy of MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Morgan added that Dhoni leaves a lasting impact on every player and instills a sense of belief and pride associated with playing for CSK.
“They absolutely love it, to be honest. They talk about the same characteristics. When you’re talking about being led brilliantly, you always say, ‘Will the team follow him?’ When it’s MS Dhoni, you never question that. He leaves an indelible mark on every player. He instils the belief that they have the ability to go out and play with the pride that’s associated with CSK, and lets them know that everybody is backing them,” Morgan said while speaking at JioCinema.
Morgan mentioned that Stokes, known for his self-belief, enjoyed playing under Dhoni’s leadership at Pune for two years and sharing the dressing room with him last year.
“Ben Stokes, who has an incredible amount of self-belief, loved playing under MS Dhoni. He did it at Pune for a couple of years and obviously shared the dressing room with him last year. They absolutely love wearing that yellow shirt,” Morgan added.
Dhoni, whose last competitive game of cricket was the IPL 2023 final, in which his Chepauk brigade overcame the previous year’s victors Gujarat Titans (GT) in a thriller for the ages in Ahmedabad, will make his comeback in the IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The 42-year-old is fit and feeling revitalised after a lengthy rehabilitation regimen for knee surgery following an ailment that sidelined him during the previous season.
Despite suffering soreness in his leg, Dhoni gave his all behind the wickets and hit the ball out of the park whenever the opportunity arose. Speculation abounds about whether this will be the man’s final IPL match and competitive cricket assignment. But, as always, Dhoni has kept a tight lip about his future, having confronted the retirement question since the 2020 edition of the league, his first for CSK after announcing his retirement from international cricket for India.