Thala, Thala! MS Dhoni is the big boss of IPL

Picture Courtesy/ MS Dhoni Instagram

With three VIVO IPL titles with Chennai Super Kings, one of India's greatest cricketing leader, MS Dhoni is an enigma! On the 13th anniversary of the VIVO IPL, MSD was named the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) captain in the VIVO IPL by the Star Sports jury, on their flagship show Cricket Connected. Captain Cool, who has a staggering win percentage of 60.11, pipped Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to a record four titles.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been one of the many players who has received a demi-God status in Indian cricket. From making his debut in a team comprising of legends, Dhoni only managed to successfully grab the spotlight after he led Team India to a World T20 title in 2007. From thereon, his stature kept growing! Chennai Super Kings picked him in the maiden VIVO IPL auction, where he became the most expensive player in 2008 and since then began MSD's transformation from a player to an icon.

With over 4000 runs at an average of almost 42 in the VIVO IPL, Dhoni has time and again proved his importance as a vital cog in the CSK wheel. His ability to finish off games saw Captain Cool as the leading run scorer in the 2019 edition. He has led his team to 8 finals, the most by any captain in the tournament and has ensured his team reaches the top 4 on 11 out of 12 seasons in the VIVO IPL.

Besides his contribution to the game, Dhoni has also managed to win the hearts of his team. Lauding Dhoni's captaincy, Star Sports expert and former World Cup-winning fast bowler Ashish Nehra said on Cricket Connected, "My pick for the greatest captain is MS Dhoni, under whose captaincy I have played the maximum, be it for the national team or in the IPL. I haven't played under Rohit, so I choose MS Dhoni."

Besides Rohit, Dhoni also faced stiff competition from Gautam Gambhir who took KKR to 2 IPL trophy victories. Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and David Warner were also a part of the elite nominee list.

Along with Ashish Nehra, Star Sports experts Sanjay Manjrekar, Darren Ganga, Scotty Styris, Mike Hesson, Dean Jones, Russell Arnold, Simon Doull and Graeme Smith chose Dhoni as their GOAT - captain.

About the Jury
The jury comprised of 50 members which included former cricketers (20), senior sports journalists (10), statisticians & analysts (10), broadcasters (7) and anchors (3) and analysts who chose the best among the list of top 10 players in each category and a list of 5 players each in categories of Greatest Captain and Coach. A shortlist of 3 names based on the 50-member jury's votes were then deliberated upon by former KKR captain and two-time IPL champion Gautam Gambhir, former England captain and World T20-winning batsman Kevin Pietersen, ICC World Cup and IPL champion Ashish Nehra, 2007 ICC World T20-winning all-rounder Irfan Pathan and former New Zealand pacer and VIVO IPL commentator Danny Morrison, who picked the winners.

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