MS Dhoni changed whole culture and face of Indian cricket, asserts Misbah-Ul-Haq

A giant of world cricket, MS Dhoni’s achievements transcended the realms of excellence, and with the former Indian skipper announcing his international retirement, an era in Indian cricket has come to end. Although there have been many moments to look back on as a pure batsman and a tactician extra-ordinary, MS Dhoni is largely credited for bringing in a culture change to Indian cricket that is reflecting in Virat Kohli’s successful tenure now.

Misbah-Ul-Haq, who was at the receiving end of one unnecessary shot that gave India the first T20 World Cup title, shed light on that facet of MS Dhoni after the third day of the second Test between England and Pakistan in Southampton.

"He's a big name in Indian cricket, he's served Indian cricket very well. One of the greats I think, the way he changed the approach and especially he achieved so much for Indian cricket, winning the World Cup, winning the Champions Trophy, winning the T20 World Cup," said Misbah, reported PTI.

"He was such a 'shrewd', you could say, captain -- the way he handled the team, the way he just developed the team and changed the team from seniors (senior players), brought up some juniors. He changed the whole culture of the team, the whole face of Indian cricket -- a wonderful servant of the game."

One of the most successful limited-overs skippers of all-time, if not the most, Dhoni was the first captain to bag all three ICC trophies - a record that still stands. His iconic six in Mumbai in the 2011 World Cup final has been immortalised forever, but Misbah looked at one of the lesser-spoken side of Dhoni’s personality, his aggression, even though the wicket-keeper has the 'Captain Cool' moniker firmly on his back.

"He's got all the trophies in his bag. He was such a cool captain on the outside, but from the inside such an aggressive player. He was the one name who really took Indian cricket from wherever Sourav left the team and then from there on he did wonders for Indian cricket. Such a wonderful person and a very, very good captain."