AB de Villiers shares blunt views on MS Dhoni: "Was very difficult to..."

Indian legendary wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is celebrating his 44th birthday today on the 7th of July. The entire cricket fraternity has come together to laud the legend on his birthday for all his contributions to the game.

MS Dhoni played for nearly one and a half decades on the Indian side, in which he was part of 538 matches across all three formats. He captained India to three ICC trophy victories and himself scored a record 17,266 runs and was part of 829 dismissals throughout his career.

Alongside so much hype and praise, even an old contemporary of MS Dhoni and probably his closest competitor, AB de Villiers, has also voiced his admiration for the Chennai Super Kings star.

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MS Dhoni lauded as 'Intimidating' by AB De Villiers

The South African legend has recalled his playing days against Indian legend MS Dhoni while speaking on JioHotstar's special show '7 Shades of MS Dhoni.' This show was dedicated to the legendary cricketer on his 44th birthday.

AB de Villiers speaks of the immense respect he had for MS Dhoni, whom he played against not only in South Africa colours but also in the IPL. Dhoni, a veteran for CSK, has played several games against AB de Villiers, who was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore setup for years.

“It was very difficult to plan for MS Dhoni. When he was on song, nothing worked. Later on, we discovered that sometimes you could get away with wide deliveries with the seam, especially in the back end of his innings. We tried it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t," said AB de Villiers.

“The guy’s class – not many game plans worked against him. I have a lot of respect for him and his achievements throughout his career. He was definitely an intimidating player to play against. What a fantastic career he had," ABD sings high praises for the former Indian wicket-keeper.

MS Dhoni—the only captain with all three ICC limited-overs titles

A record held only by the legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni. He is the only captain to have won all ICC limited-overs titles, which include the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup, the 2011 ICC World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

He is also the only skipper in the world to have won both the World Cup titles in the ODI as well as the T20 format.

Only the likes of Sir Clive Lloyd, Ricky Ponting, and Darren Sammy have lifted more than one World Cup title, equalling MS Dhoni in the list of elites. As a captain of the national side, MS Dhoni has the second-most ICC titles, only behind the great Ricky Ponting.

MS Dhoni also led the Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings to 5 titles since his debut for them in the inaugural season of the IPL. A face of sheer dedication and love for the game, MS Dhoni is considered one of the most inspiring characters in cricket.

MS Dhoni was included in the ICC Hall of Fame in 2025

On the 9th of June 2025, MS Dhoni became the 11th Indian player to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, marking an honour to his illustrious career. MS Dhoni is among the few captains in the history of cricket to have won more than one ICC trophy.

Alongside his glorious career as a skipper, he was a stunning batter at times for India. Considering his immense contributions to the game of cricket, MS Dhoni was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2025 alongside six other cricketers, including Graeme Smith, Matthew Hayden, Hashim Amla, Daniel Vettori, Sana Mir, and Sarah Taylor.

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