South African says only time will tell if MSD will don the blue jersey again
Albie Morkel’s international career may not throw jaw-dropping numbers but he picked up the right wickets at the right time and finished games when required. Parallel to the international stint, ran the Chennai Super Kings journey under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni.
The brand
Having played five IPL finals under the superstar ‘keeper-batsman, the South African feels ‘Dhoni the brand’ matters and that he is still supremely fit to run the show.
“He plays a big role. We all know how big Dhoni is in India. He is one of the best T20 and white-ball players ever to play the game and if you get him as a leader, it is going to bring success as he knows how to get the best out of his players,” Morkel told Sportstar on the sidelines of the Unacademy Road Safety World Series.
Dhoni has been off the field since the World Cup 2019 semifinal loss to New Zealand. The 2020 edition of the IPL, which is currently in limbo due to the coronavirus outbreak, would have marked his comeback and perhaps set the stage for the expected farewell tournament in October, the ICC World T20.
Morkel threw light on the achievements of CSK to decode the Dhoni factor behind any team’s success. “It all comes from keeping your core group of players together for a long time and have the same captain, Dhoni, for all seasons except for the two years when they weren’t part of the competition.
“Consistency is their secret. Over the last few seasons, they have made the finals eight times out of 10,” he said.
Morkel retired from all forms of the game last year but he misses “the moments of the IPL.” He was part of the South Africa Legends side for the Road Safety Series which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic.
“I have accepted that my time is over. You need to move on. I have spent fantastic years with CSK who are still very successful.”
As for Dhoni, only time will tell if he will return in the blue jersey.
