MS Dhoni is considered by many as the greatest captain in cricket history. Nicknamed as ‘Captain Cool,’ the Ranchi-born wicket-keeper batsman is the only man to win the ICC T20 World Cup, ICC World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, and the first position in the ICC Test Rankings as a captain. In the IPL, he guided the Chennai Super Kings to the playoffs in ten seasons.
The Super Kings are three-time IPL champions, while they also won the Champions League T20 trophy two times. Talking about Dhoni’s captaincy, a majority of the cricket universe believes that a player is at his best when he plays under Thala’s captaincy. The former Indian keeper has captained two teams in the IPL, namely the Chennai Super Kings and the Rising Pune Supergiant.
Many great players have played under him. Here’s a look at those seven names who were the skippers of other IPL teams, but they played under Dhoni later in their careers.
1.Kevin Pietersen
English legend Kevin Pietersen was elected the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2009 season. The switch hit specialist also captained the Delhi-based franchise in the IPL.
Pietersen played his last IPL season for the Rising Pune Supergiant, where his skipper was Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Unfortunately, Pietersen got injured midway in the competition and then he never returned to the league.
2.Dwayne Bravo
‘Champion’ DJ Bravo has been a match-winner for the Chennai Super Kings in the last decade. He has won the Purple Cap award and dismissed the batsmen in the death overs.
Before playing for the Chennai-based team, Bravo represented the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Bravo got a chance to lead the Mumbai-based franchise in just one match of the 2010 season. MI lost that game.
3.Brendon McCullum
Former New Zealand cricket team captain Brendon McCullum played for multiple franchises in the IPL. His first IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders had assigned him the captain’s role in 2009.
McCullum did not have a great record as a skipper in the Indian Premier League. He later switched to the Chennai Super Kings and performed well under MS Dhoni.
4.Harbhajan Singh
Very few fans might know that Harbhajan Singh captained the Mumbai Indians in their first IPL match. In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan often led the Mumbai-based team in the IPL.
However, MI released him before the 2018 season. Subsequently, the Chennai Super Kings bought him in the auction, and he played under the captaincy of MS Dhoni in 2018 and 2019.
5.Shane Watson
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson played an integral role in the success that the Chennai Super Kings achieved in 2018 and 2019. Before playing for CSK, Watson had captained RCB and RR in the IPL.
The all-rounder has passed his prime now, and it is only a matter of time that he may stop playing all forms of cricket. It goes without saying that Watto will be remembered as one of the greatest players in IPL history.
6.George Bailey
George Bailey had started his journey with the Chennai Super Kings, but he achieved the most success at KXIP. He led the team to the final in the 2014 season.
In 2016, Bailey joined the Rising Pune Supergiant as a replacement player. He played under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in a few matches before his career ended.
7.Steve Smith
Last but not the least, the current Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith had played under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in the 2016 season at the Rising Pune Supergiant. Even he was ruled out because of an injury.
Before playing for RPS, Smith had played the skipper’s role for the Pune Warriors and the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. In 2017, Smith replaced Dhoni as RPS captain.
