MS Dhoni changed the way India played cricket, says former India cricketer and teammate of Sachin Tendulkar, WATCH video

Former India cricketer and now commentator Sanjay Manjrekar sat down with Pranav Gandhi on his show, SportifyWithPRG, to offer his thoughts on some of Indian cricket’s finest players over the years, the future of One-Day Internationals (ODIs), India’s prospects at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and light-hearted anecdotes from his playing days.

Manjrekar believed former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni laid the foundation for Team India’s winning attitude in international cricket. Indian men’s cricket team are currently in No. 1 spot in the World Test Championships (WTC) points table and need just 3 wins in their next 8 Tests to qualify for their third successive WTC final.

It was Dhoni who won the maiden T20 World Cup title in 2007 and it took Rohit Sharma another 17 years to replicate the feat in 2024. Dhoni also led India to win in the 2011 ODI World Cup, bringing home the trophy after 28 years.

“He changed the way India played cricket, that transition happened where Dhoni was a facilitator. He wanted the team to win, India started chasing better in limited-overs cricket … just the right kind of guy at that time,” Manjrekar said about Dhoni.

Watch Sanjay Manjrekar speak about MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar HERE…

On the most talented player he has played with or watched, Manjrekar didn’t hesitate to name the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. “Has to be Tendulkar on pure talent. At 16, a guy who just took a couple of months to get used to the highest level is just incredible. And very soon, started dominating inside one or two years, and a genuine 16-year-old. Nobody comes close when it comes to sheer talent,” Manjrekar said.

On the future of ODIs

Manjrekar also addressed the uncertain future of one-day cricket, particularly its struggle to maintain relevance amid the rise of other formats. He pointed to the World Cup as a crucial factor in ODIs’ allure. “The problem with one-day cricket is actually the World Cups. Because every time you’ve had that World cup ever four years its turned out to be a hit event, and the kind of matches we have had, viewership would have hit the roof in the last two finals … the bilaterals, there is no interest there, it’s a boring format … I was put off 50 overs cricket 15 years back”, he remarked.

However, Manjrekar suggested a potential change in format could revive interest in ODIs. “The only way 50-overs will maybe have some connect or become a little more popular is if it’s made into 40 overs and the World Cup year we could have, maybe for the teams to get used to it, 50 overs”.

Anecdotes from his career

In a light-hearted memory, Manjrekar spoke about Ajay Jadeja’s carefree personality. “Ajay was such a star at the time, and he had this way with people … We were going to New Zealand. We were in that lounge just before you go to the gate and the flight was delayed forever … He said we should go to ‘Ghungroo,’ which was a nightclub … We actually went out, spent a couple of hours, and came back to go through security and immigration again. They were different times.”

On the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy

Manjrekar predicted that the upcoming edition of the Border Gavaskar would be more competitive than recent times. He said, “This series might just be a little more competitive than the last two tours, where Indian cricket reached a new high when they beat Australia. The Indian batting will, I think, decide the fate of the series.”