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Who doesn't know Mahendra Singh Dhoni's contribution to the world of cricket. Many ex-cricketers commentators and those in the fraternity still praise him for his performance on the field and his temperament for which he is fondly called captain cool.
Australian great Greg Chappell too has shared his opinion about Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He said, "His is one of the sharpest cricket minds I have encountered," adding that his decision-making skills set him apart from his great contemporaries. The Australian cited the example of Dhoni while lamenting the absence of natural environments that once played a huge part in the development of players in strong cricket nations.
Writing a column for ESPNcricinfo, Chappell mentioned, "The developed cricket countries have lost the natural environments that were a big part of their development structure in bygone eras. In those environments, young cricketers learned from watching good players and then emulating them in pick-up matches with family and friends."
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Speaking of the time that the Australian had a two-year tenure as India's chief coach from 2005 to 2007, "MS Dhoni, with whom I worked in India, is a good example of a batter who developed his talent and learned to play in this fashion.
"By competing against more experienced individuals on a variety of surfaces early in his development, Dhoni developed the decision-making and strategic skills that have set him apart from many of his peers. He is one of the sharpest cricket minds I have encountered," he added.
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Notably, Dhoni began flourishing in the Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell era, his explosive knock of 183 not out in an ODI against Sri Lanka being a highlight of that time. Former Australia batter Chappell is of the opinion that coaches need to create environments where players can learn problem-solving and decision-making on their own.
As for Dhoni in the Indian Premier League season of 2022, there had been speculations of him giving up captaincy role for the Chennai Super Kings franchise.