Under MS Dhoni’s leadership, India won every single white-ball ICC trophy and went to the top of the ICC Test rankings. It was a golden period in Indian cricket that saw plenty of highs. Former India batter Sanjay Manrekar lauded Dhoni’s influence on Indian cricket, saying that the former skipper changed the way India played cricket.

“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 told  Pranav Gandhi on his show, SportifyWithPRG.

Manjrekar was quick to name Sachin Tendulkar as the best talent he had ever seen. 

“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.

Manjrekar has also suggested ways to keep the 50-over format relevant.  “The problem with one-day cricket is actually the World Cups. Because every time you’ve had that World Cup every 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. 

Speaking of the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Manjrekar feels that the series will be more competitive than the last two tours.

“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,” the 59-year-old said.

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