Is Dhoni a good player in T20s?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's performance in the shortest format of the game has been in talks over the last few months. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly raised many eyebrows when he said that Dhoni is not a good T20 player but is a champion in ODIs. Let us have a look at Dhoni's statistics in T20 cricket to answer this question.
How has Dhoni performed in the T20 internationals?
MS Dhoni has played 76 T20 internationals for India and has scored 1209 runs at an average of 36.63. His highest score is 56 runs. Brendon McCullum is the highest run scorer in T20 internationals with 2140 runs, while Dhoni is at 24th place on the list. India's highest scorer in T20 internationals, Virat Kohli, has 1709 runs at an average of 53.40.
Dhoni's record as a T20 captain
After taking over as the captain of India's T20 team in 2007, Dhoni led the team to victory in the maiden ICC World T20 in South Africa. India were finalists in 2014 as well. Under Dhoni's captaincy, India have won 41 of the 72 T20 internationals and have lost only 28. He is the most successful T20 captain with a winning percentage of 59.28.
Dhoni's contribution in wins
MS Dhoni has an average of 49.08 in the 41 wins as a captain, while 28.82 in 28 losses. This clearly shows Dhoni's contribution has been paramount in winning matches. Interestingly, his highest score of 56 came after he gave up his captaincy in 2017.
Dhoni's performance in the IPL
In the 152 Indian Premier League matches till now, Dhoni has fared well, scoring 3444 runs with the highest score of 70 not out. He is currently the eighth highest scorer in the IPL, ahead of the likes of AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum and Shikhar Dhawan. His average of 38.46 is one of the highest among the top batsmen.
MSD's two IPL title victories
As a captain of the now-defunt Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni has led the team to the IPL title twice, in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 and 2014, he also led the team to clinch the Champions League T20 titles.
How has Dhoni performed in tenth season of IPL?
Playing his first season as a non-captain, MS Dhoni has scored 173 runs in nine matches for the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 IPL. His season started with scores of 12, 5, 11 and 5 in the first four matches. However, 28 off 25 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and a 31-ball-61 against Gujarat Lions helped RPS to register back-to-back victories.
In conclusion
Dhoni is probably the best finisher in the game and his contribution in winning T20s has been significant. While he may be going through a rough patch, we believe his bounce back is inevitable.
