IND vs BAN: MS Dhoni picked as India's greatest captain by Aakash Chopra, Kapil Dev ignored

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has picked MS Dhoni as India's best captain ahead of the likes of Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly. According to Chopra, Dhoni has seen different transition periods in Indian cricket and has successfully come out from all of them.

MS Dhoni's records speak for themselves as he is the only captain to win three major ICC titles ICC T20 World Cup (2007), ICC ODI World Cup (2011), and ICC Champions Trophy (2013). He also led India to the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings during his captaincy tenure.

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Aakash Chopra picks MS Dhoni as India's best captain

During a podcast on Raj Shamani's YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked about India's best captain till date. After giving it a thought, he picked MS Dhoni and reasoned out by saying that Dhoni has worked with a young team and an experienced team, and has successfully won the trophies with both of them.

"You have to go with (MS) Dhoni. Dhoni has seen the transition as well. He played the 2007 event (T20 World Cup) with youngsters, played in 2011 (ODI World Cup) with seniors. It was the last World Cup for Sachin (Tendulkar) paaji. Afterwards, he also saw his exit. So, everything happened under him (MS Dhoni). Dhoni has to go down as India's greatest captain," Chopra reckoned.

MS Dhoni made his India debut in the year 2004 in an ODI against Bangladesh. His last international match was the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final, in which India suffered a heartbreaking loss to New Zealand to be eliminated from the tournament.

MS Dhoni led brilliantly from behind - Aakash Chopra

When asked about the changes he made to Indian cricket with his captaincy, Aakash Chopra felt that Dhoni allowed the other players to flourish under his leadership. He lauded Dhoni's ability to lead from behind which also helped in the development of players.

"Dhoni changed one very important factor that he allowed others to take the centerstage very often. Leadership from behind is a very rare quality that you would see in anyone," Chopra said.

"You will get many people who will lead by example, lead by front, but leading from behind is a very different aspect which many people are unable to do. He has been that guy who says that you do it but if you are unable to complete it, then I'll come," he added.

Further, Aakash Chopra also spoke about the team's environment under MS Dhoni. The former India opener cited the example of IPL team Chennai Super Kings and claimed that the players have never said anything bad about the franchise ever.

"The second thing is how many players want to play for MS Dhoni. Even today in IPL, I'm yet to come across a single player who has played for Chennai and said anything bad about the franchise or Dhoni. The players might not have fond memories but they were happy to play with Dhoni," the former India batter said.

"It's not just the love. You have to be fair and ruthless at times when you are the captain. But even after so much, a player is saying good things about the franchise, then it's brilliant," Chopra added.

Alongside winning three major ICC trophies with India, Dhoni is also the joint-most successful captain in the Indian Premier League. He has won five IPL titles with CSK. Dhoni might have retired from international cricket but he is still an active player in the IPL.

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