Throughout his remarkable career, MS Dhoni has inspired billions of people, and the number continues to rise annually as his unparalleled charisma lights up the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has made a name for himself as a great wicketkeeper-batter and a successful skipper during his career. More ICC titles have been won by him than by any other Indian captain.
Shreyas Gopal, who is now guiding the Mangalore Dragons in the Maharaja Trophy 2025, praised MS Dhoni man-management abilities and capacity to bring out the best in his players. The leg-spinner had the chance to share the dressing room with MS Dhoni while playing for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL this season.
The 31-year-old praised MS Dhoni for his modest manner despite his incredible achievement and described how tough it is to be in his position. Gopal added that among other things, the former India captain taught him the art of finishing and captaincy.
Being an MS Dhoni is quite difficult. People believe that becoming MS Dhoni is really simple. Many people yell and applaud him, but it’s really difficult to be him, to be so grounded, to be so modest, to be so sympathetic and caring. Additionally, you recognise that he is a human. “His greatness lies in his love of doing very basic and simple things,” Gopal said on SportsYaari’s YouTube channel.
“Tactically, there have been numerous discussions with him on how to manage a player, how to place a player in a tournament, and who to utilise for the particular over. And everyone is aware that no one is better than him. He said, “So, learning how to finish matches, learning how to be captain, just learning how to, the way he deals with his stardom.”
He benefits more from cricket the more he plays the game: Gopal
Gopal didn’t play for CSK in the 2025 Indian Premier League, but he doesn’t want to quit the team before the upcoming campaign. He stated that he hopes to spend as much time as possible with Dhoni since he believes that learning from the cricket legend could help him become a better player.
For many of us, perhaps billions of us, playing with MS Dhoni was the stuff of our dreams.
I was given the opportunity last year, and I would really like to keep doing it for a few more years. He benefits more from cricket the more he plays the game. Additionally, the conversations we have with him in the dressing room and the feedback we receive are simply invaluable. Thus, I feel incredibly fortunate to be playing for CSK, with him, and under him,” he remarked.
India
