MSD Magic: Ajinkya Rahane and three other Players whose careers revived under MS Dhoni

There have been numerous examples which prove that Dhoni has a special ability to bring the best out of people around him.

MSD Magic: Ajinkya Rahane and three other Players whose careers revived under MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to possess a magic wand which he uses on players to get the best out of them when everyone thinks they are finished. Having played as a captain for over fifteen years now, Dhoni knows almost everything about how to manage players. However, managing young players and getting the best out of them is a different thing and reviving the careers of players who are on the verge of vanishing is an entirely different thing.

But Dhoni is a master of both. There have been numerous examples which prove that Dhoni has a special ability to bring the best out of people around him. While many players have admitted it themselves that Dhoni’s backing has helped them perform to a certain level, some examples speak for themselves.

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So, as MS Dhoni continues to influence people with his tactical masterclass, here are four players whose careers revived under the former India captain.

Ajinkya Rahane (in IPL)

ajinkya rahane ipl career

The latest and foremost name that comes to mind when we talk about careers getting revived under MS Dhoni is Ajinkya Rahane. The former India vice-captain in Tests, Rahane lost his place in the Indian white-ball team a long ago. However, he was still a regular in Tests till 2022. But a string of failures saw Rahane losing his spot in the Test team as well.

The Maharashtra cricketer was not a big name in Indian Premier League (IPL) either after some ordinary outings but Chennai Super Kings (CSK) picked him and here he is scoring runs for fun. Rahane has already scored over 200 runs in five matches and has the best batting strike rate in IPL 2023 so far. These exploits with CSK have brought Rahane back in contention once again and it is to be seen if the veteran batter gets a national call up.

Virat Kohli (in Tests)

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While this might sound surprising to many, MS Dhoni played a big role in Virat Kohli’s Test career revival. After a horrible tour to England in 2014, the calls to drop Kohli from the Test squad grew louder and louder but Dhoni wanted to persist with the dynamic batter. And, this backing paid dividends as Kohli took the cricketing fraternity by storm later that year when he piled up runs against Australia and the rest is history as they say.

Related: “He is possessed,” fans fail to believe after Ajinkya Rahane plays outrageous shots against KKR

Shivam Dube (in IPL)

shivam dube ipl career

The Mumbai all-rounder who has been compared with Yuvraj Singh time and again, Shivam Dube’s IPL career got a boost when CSK roped him in for INR 4 CR at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. The story seems to have changed for Dube since then as the southpaw is piling up runs in the biggest T20 league consistently. Dube’s best IPL season came in 2022 wherein he scored 289 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 156.22. Dube has carried the form into 2023 as well, scoring 184 runs in 7 matches at a strike rate of 157.26 so far.

Rohit Sharma (in ODIs)

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Last but not the least, Rohit Sharma has also admitted on many occasions that MS Dhoni saved his career when he asked the Mumbai cricketer to open for India. Notably, Rohit used to play in the middle order and had average numbers. However, after Dhoni promoted Rohit up the order during the 2013 Champions Trophy, it worked wonders for Sharma and his ODI career took off. Today, Sharma is India’s one of the best opening batters.

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