Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha praised his ex-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying that the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman was a “bowler’s captain.”
Ojha, who played 24 Tests and 18 ODIs between 2008 and 2013, played most of his international cricket under the captaincy of Dhoni.
“He (Dhoni) was a bowler’s captain. I strongly believe that a bowler should have a captain who understands him. A lot of bowlers praise Dhoni because of the dimensions he gives you, things that he helps you with like placing the field, keeping your mind clear which are important when you play high-intensity games,” he said.
Ojha announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Friday. His last competitive appearance came in November 2018 in a first-class game for Bihar, with whom he had a very short stint.
In his last appearance for India, he came up with a Man of the Match performance for his 10-wicket match haul in India’s innings win over West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in 2013. The match was also Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test.
Dhoni, meanwhile, is expected to make his comeback to cricket with Chennai Super Kings at the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League. He has been on a sabbatical from the game since India’s semifinal defeat to New Zealand at the 2019 ICC World Cup.