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According to Ganguly, Dhoni is the greatest white-ball captain because he won the ODI World Cup title.
Sourav Ganguly picks MS Dhoni as greatest white-ball captain. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has picked Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the greatest white-ball captain. According to Ganguly, who led India to the final of the ODI World Cup in 2003, Dhoni is the greatest because he has won a World Cup for India. Dhoni, who succeeded Rahul Dravid as India’s ODI captain in 2007, was the captain of the Indian men’s cricket team that won the men’s ODI World Cup title in 2011. In addition to ending India’s 28-year-long wait for an ODI World Cup title on April 2, 2011, Dhoni also won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy as India captain.
In a recent TV9 event, Ganguly picked Dhoni over him as the greatest captain by saying that the 44-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Ranchi has won the World Cup.
“Mahendra Singh Dhoni (is the greatest captain). Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the World Cup. Mai toh World Cup runners-up raha hu (I have been runner-up at the World Cup). MS Dhoni is a very big captain in white ball cricket,” Ganguly said.
“He is from Ranchi; he is from the East Zone. And I am very proud that he comes from a small city, Jharkhand, in Ranchi. Where no one has ever played before. Never played for the country. And coming from there and becoming such a big player for the country. This is a matter of great pride,” he added.
Dhoni made his international debut for India under Ganguly’s leadership in December 2004 against Bangladesh and went on to play for the national team till July 10, 2019. Dhoni took over the leadership of India’s ODI team from Rahul Dravid in September 2007 after winning the first edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
Dhoni led India a total of 200 ODI matches from 2007 to 2018 and won 110. He tops the list of captains with the most wins for India in ODIs, and overall only Ricky Ponting has won more matches than him as skipper.
Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on August 15, 2020, still plays in the IPL and will be seen in action for Chennai Super Kings in the 2026 edition of the world’s richest franchise cricket league, which is set to start on March 28 in Bengaluru with a match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
March 25, 2026, 23:19 IST
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