5 Players Who Were Backed By Former Indian Skipper MS Dhoni

Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni are considered to be the two captains who have changed the face of Indian cricket and have brought a plethora of youngsters in the national side. For a player to perform consistently at the international level, it is quintessential that he gets the backing of his captain.

MS Dhoni is considered to be one of the most successful captains in world cricket history. He has won everything that there is to as a captain. However, MS Dhoni couldn’t have achieved all this if he didn’t have a strong team behind him. And a strong team c0mprises of players who achieve consistent results at the international level, which is only possible if the captain backs you.

Today, we’ll take a look at the five players who were backed consistently by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, and these players produced results eventually.

MS Dhoni: 5 Players Backed By The Former Indian Skipper

5. Rohit Sharma

After playing the under-19 World Cup, Rohit Sharma got a chance to represent the Indian team in as early as 2007. He was also part of the Indian team that lifted the T20 World Cup in 2007. But he was never able to perform regularly for the team until the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Rohit Sharma batted in the middle order until that time. But he got complete support of MS Dhoni due to which he was given the opportunity to open the batting during the 2013 Champions Trophy. Since then, Rohit Sharma has never looked back.

The Hitman has proved himself to be a successful opener. In contemporary times, he is the vice-captain of the Indian team. Along with that, he has also led the Men in Blue in many important series. As a captain, Rohit Sharma also won the Asia Cup 2018.

4. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja secured his spot in the Indian team by performing very well in the IPL. But by 2013, his performance was not of the very high standard. Dhoni strongly supported Ravindra Jadeja in that period too, the result of which is quite evident now.

After that, Ravindra Jadeja was involved in the team by MS Dhoni in all three formats. However, he did not do much with the bat in the limited-overs format. Even after that, he was also seen playing as an all-rounder in the team. Jadeja used to be a part of playing XI on a regular basis.

Although Jadeja was expelled from the Indian side in 2017, the all-rounder has made a great return to international cricket and represents the team across formats being a key member of the squad.

3. Ishant Sharma

If we look at the Indian Test team today, Ishant Sharma has established himself as one of the most important players. But there was a time when a lot of questions were raised over his presence in the Indian team. However, in that very bad phase of his career, he got strong support from MS Dhoni.

Ishant Sharma’s place in the team always raised questions, but at that time he was getting Dhoni’s constant support. He always remained a key figure of the Test team. However, he had to pay for poor performance in the limited-overs format, where he was dropped from the team.

Sharma has reached very close to playing 100 Test matches today, which is considered to be a great achievement for any fast bowler. Ishant Sharma is now one of India’s most improved bowlers in the most extended format of the game and continues to do good.

2. Shikhar Dhawan

When no one trusted Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni decided to give him a chance. Shikhar Dhawan has also been supported continuously by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in bad times. Now, that Dhawan has evolved as a player, Dhoni’s decision to back him bore fruits for Indian cricket.

When Shikhar Dhawan started his career, he soon became a part of the Indian team in all three formats. However, he wasn’t able to do justice to his role in Test cricket. Even then, Dhawan was extensively backed by Dhoni in the limited-overs formats.

Dhawan then played Test cricket for the Indian team till 2018. He is still an important member of the Indian team in limited-overs setup. But Shikhar Dhawan is no longer part of the team in the Test format.

1. Suresh Raina

India’s go-to player in the middle-order, Suresh Raina also features in the list of players backed by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Suresh Raina, who has been a part of the Indian side, for a very long time, has been continuously backed by Dhoni.

When Raina was going through one of the worst phases of his international cricketing career, MS Dhoni had his back and regularly supported him on and off the field which helped Faina revive from the poor form that he was going through.

Ever since MS Dhoni stepped down as the Indian captain, Suresh Raina hasn’t been able to fix his seat in the national side. He has been in and out of the team since Dhoni’s departure, and the future does not seem very luminous for the left-hander.

Also Read: Yograj Singh Lashes Out At MS Dhoni Again, Says Dhoni Has Done Nothing For The Youngsters