The Pakistan spin all-rounder, Sajid Khan, was asked to reveal his inspiration for the game, to which he betrayed the likes of Babar Azam, the former captain of the Green Brigade, or the current ODI and T20I captain Mohammad Rizwan or his Test captain Shan Masood, where whom they earned an iconic series victory at home over England with a 2-1 margin.
During a recent local television interview, Sajid Khan was asked if he had any experience of leading a side. He looked back at the period when he had such experiences in the past, in the Under-13 level as well as club and the first-class sides in senior cricket.
When the off-spinner was asked to address his inspiration in the game in terms of captaincy, the 31-year-old called the name of the former World Cup-winning captain, MS Dhoni, as the best leader of the side. The Ranchi-born has been decorated with the three adjectives, cool, calm, and successful by the spinner.
Watch: Sajid Khan calls MS Dhoni the most successful captain
When further asked if the captaincy style of the former Indian captain is aggressive, Sajid Khan highlighted how being a captain or not is not such an issue in the context, but the strategy of the leader matters.
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Dhoni began his leadership in a cracking manner, lifting the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa, getting the better of Pakistan in the final, while in the 2011 ODI World Cup, the former wicket-keeper batter delivered India their second title in the tournament history, to end the wait of 28 years.
Just a couple of years later, he collected the Champions Trophy 2013, becoming the first leader of the game to claim three ICC trophies. Even towards the twilight period of his career, he helped the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to win the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) before handing the responsibility to the young opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Sajid Khan was out of the Test team for Pakistan for a long time before he made his return during the second of the three-match series against England, on the back of their huge innings defeat in Multan during the opening Test of the series.
The Green Brigade made the change after their poor performance, which saw them losing six successive Test matches and remaining defeated at home in the longest format of the game since 2021. The management decided to change the health of the surface, which was bound to help the spinners.
Both Sajid Khan and Noman Ali came into the three-match series and changed the whole situation. The England batters hardly had any answer against the bowling department, as the former picked up 19 wickets in four innings to finish as the second leading wicket-taker of the series at an average of 21.10 and a strike rate of 28.63 with the help of two five-wicket hauls and one four-wicket haul.
Pakistan Spinner Sajid Khan on MS Dhoni 🥶🔥#MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/y2L4bq8T3D
— Chakri Dhoni (@ChakriDhonii) November 5, 2024
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Both Sajid Khan and Noman are expected to make the trip for the upcoming two-match Test series in South Africa. They are out of the qualification for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 but can look to extend their purple patch by extending the good performances with the ball in hand.
On the other hand, MS Dhoni will turn up again with the bat for the Chennai Super Kings during the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League after becoming the uncapped player for the franchise.
