Michael Hussey Explains Difference Between MS Dhoni And Ricky Ponting's Captaincy

MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting are two of the most successful captains of the 21st century. While Ponting spearheaded Australian juggernaut for a better part of the 21st century, leading them to back-to-back World Cups (2003 & 2007) and Champions Trophy (2006 & 2009) and the numero-uno spot in Test match cricket, MS Dhoni is the only captain in the history of the game to win all three ICC titles- T20 WC 2007, 50-over WC 2011 & 2013 Champions Trophy- besides being the first captain to take India to the No.1 spot in Test cricket.

Both Ponting and Dhoni have been hugely successful as captains and the fact that they have achieved such heights of success with contrasting styles, just goes to show that there multiple ways that lead to success. While Ponting was someone who liked to take the game by the scruff of its neck, and leads his team by example, MS Dhoni was an epitome of calmness and shrewd game awareness.

Mike Hussey has been lucky to play under the leadership of both Ponting (2004-2011) and MS Dhoni (2008-13 & 2015), and the Australian legend recently delved on the difference in style of leadership of both the champion captains.

According to Hussey, Ricky Ponting was a driven personality who wanted to lead no matter which game he played.

“Ricky is just so driven and so competitive in everything that he does. He can be playing table tennis in the team room or he can be playing a game of marbles and Ricky would want to win. You’ll do a fielding drill at training and he wants to lead. He wants to set the highest standard,” Mike Hussey told Raunak Kapoor in a chat on Youtube.

Also Read: MS Dhoni’s Self-Belief Makes Him The Greatest Finisher Of All-Time: Mike Hussey

MS Dhoni tactically better than Ricky Ponting: Mike Hussey

Speaking about MS Dhoni, Hussey hailed his Chennai Super Kings captain for the calmness that he displays even in the most tense situations. He also alluded to Dhoni being a better tactician than Ricky Ponting, admitting that he was on numerous occasions in awe by some of the out-of-the-box tactics that Dhoni pulled off in the midst of a game.

“MS is a lot calmer. A lot more measured. And I would say he strategically reads the game slightly better than Ricky. Ricky was a good tactician as well. Fantastic, but the way MS makes some moves out there in the field, I’ll be sort of thinking “where’s he going with this?” Inevitably it might work. How did this come from? He just backs his gut feel. Two different captains but both very effective in their own ways,” said Hussey.

Hussey added that one of the greatest strengths of MS Dhoni is his ability to take the pressure off some of his young Indian players.

“I think one of the greatest strengths about MS, particularly in a place like India, is his great ability to take the pressure off players, particularly young Indian players. In India, you know what it’s like. It’s a religion over there. Everyone wants it so much, so badly. He just says it’s just a game, just go out there and play. Enjoy. Some days you win, some days you lose. It’s not the be-all-end-all. That’s quite rare I think for a captain, particularly in India.”

MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting hold the record for the most matches as captain. While Dhoni led Team India in 332 games across formats in which he won 178 and lost 120, Ricky Ponting spearheaded the Australian unit for 10 years in 324 games, winning 220 and losing just 77.

Also Read: Michael Hussey Holds Himself “Partly Responsible” For The Ugly Altercation Between Michael Clarke And Simon Katich In 2009