England and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Moeen Ali, who has played extensively under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan and MS Dhoni, has noted similarities between the two World Cup-winning captains, saying both skippers share a remarkable calmness and composure, regardless of the circumstances.
Dhoni is arguably one of the most successful captains in world cricket, winning the ODI World Cup in 2011, T20 World Cup (2007), and the Champions Trophy in 2013 while Morgan helped England clinch their maiden ODI World Cup in 2019.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Moeen highlighted the only difference between the captaincy styles of Dhoni and Morgan and said: “They’re very similar in how clear and calm they are, but also very different. Their interests and all that are very different. The biggest difference? MS does most of his captaincy on gut feel, on the day. It could be a bit like that with Morgs too, but he was also very data-driven. But they’re both so calm. In terms of mannerisms, they are very, very, very similar.”
Further speaking about Dhoni, Moeen said that Dhoni’s humility is what distinguishes him, even though he has a massive fan base.
“The best way I could describe MS is that he’s a very normal person. Obviously, he has a massive following but there’s no big-headedness or anything like that. He’s very humble. You can talk to him about anything he’s just as you see him on TV: approachable, calm.”
CSK will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in a marquee clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday. The Dhoni-led side has so far won two out of their four games in the tournament and is placed sixth in the standings.