IPL 2021: As a leader of the side, he is rising to the challenge – Matthew Hayden picks MS Dhoni as his MVP

Former Australian and CSK opener Matthew Hayden has picked MS Dhoni as his Most Valuable Player of the ongoing Indian Premier League. Though Dhoni hasn’t been at his best with the bat, he has once again delivered the goods for the team as a leader.

Chennai had a horrible run in IPL 2020 as they finished at seventh place in the points table with six wins from 14 matches. However, the franchise was able to turn the tables in the ongoing season despite not making substantial changes to their squad after the auction.

Chennai has all but qualified for the playoff stages as they have won eight out of the 10 matches they have played and are currently placed at the top of the points table. Thus, a lot of credit goes to MS Dhoni for getting the best out of the young players like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sam Curran. CSK has mostly come up with collective effort and they are not dependent on the heroics of a particular player.

Speaking on Star Sports for their Super Kings show, Matthew Hayden said: “Most valuable player, even though he hasn’t had the best of tournaments so far, is still MS Dhoni. As a leader of the side, he is absolutely rising to the challenge. He is older obviously but he has got the reigns and he is cracking them hard and his side is responding.”

“Guys like DJ Bravo, for example, that are making their impact on this tournament albeit in a way that’s small but each component of the team is playing in unison,” Matthew Hayden added.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings has an old team as the average age of their players is in the 30s. Still, MS has been successful in guiding the team to the right path, and he as well as the team management has been loyal to the players as far as the selection is concerned. CSK is known to back its players to the hilt and the same has been noticed again.

“MS Dhoni when the IPL was first conceived, had a very strong younger side. He has got it now because of the strategies of having you know the loyalty amongst their selection. He’s got an older side but what we have seen in MS’s style is that he has still promoted the best out of guys like DJ Bravo, for example, Faf du Plessis and others that are having a magnificent tournament,” Matthew Hayden added.

“So for mine, his style is again and the greats do this, they shift and alter gears according to how their assets lie,” he concluded.