'MS Dhoni was a bowler's captain,' Pragyan Ojha praises former Indian skipper

Former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha has commended MS Dhoni saying that the veteran skipper was a "bowler's captain."

Ojha, who played for India between 2008 and 2013, recently announced retirement from all forms of international cricket on Friday. Having represented India in 24 Tests and 18 ODIs, he played most of his international cricket under the leadership of Dhoni.

"He (Dhoni) was a bowler's captain. I strongly believe that a bowler should have a captain who understands him. A lot of bowlers praise Dhoni because of the dimensions he gives you, things that he helps you with like placing the field, keeping your mind clear which are important when you play high-intensity games," he said in a recent interview.

The spinner, whose last competitive game was back in November 2018 in a First-Class game for Bihar with whom he had a short stint, has bowed out of the game with 134 international wickets.

Co-incidentally, his last appearance for India was also legendary Sachin Tendulkar's farewell match, which India played against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in 2013. Ojha was awarded the Player of the Match for his 10-wicket haul as India sealed the match by an innings' victory.

On the other hand, Dhoni has not played for India since the team's semi-final loss to New Zealand at the Cricket World Cup last year in England. There is no concrete information about when his sabbatical is going to end as he has missed quite a few series India have played in the last few months.

The former Indian captain, however, is expected to make a comeback in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he'll lead the three-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni and Co lost to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the final last year.

It was reported on Tuesday that Dhoni along with other CSK players will begin training in Chennai from March 2. The report also stated that the likes of Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu among others will train for full two weeks and then take a break before returning ahead of the IPL 2020, which is scheduled to begin on March 29.

The opening fixture that will be played at defending champions' home ground of Wankhede will see the home side lock horns against Dhoni and Co.