Former RCB batter AB de Villiers was recently asked on Jio Cinema about whom he considers as the GOAT of TATA IPL. While cricket fans expected him to name his ex teammates Virat Kohli or Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers surprised everyone by naming MS Dhoni as the GOAT of IPL.
Chennai Super Kings’ skipper MS Dhoni is one of the most successful captains in the history of Indian Premier League. He has clinched the IPL title as the skipper of CSK side four times in the 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 editions of the cash-rich league.
MS Dhoni is also the seventh-highest run scorer in the history of IPL despite batting majority of times in the lower middle order. He went past the 5000 runs mark in the IPL 2023 and has played 209 innings for scoring those many runs. He has a staggering strike rate of 135.78 and an average of 39.34.
AB de Villiers names MS Dhoni as the GOAT of IPL
In a ‘Q20s’ section of Jio Cinema, the official digital broadcaster of the IPL 2023, AB De Villiers was asked to name the GOAT of the IPL. The legendary batter then replied, “The GOAT in the TATA IPL 2023 for me is MS Dhoni.”
"MS Dhoni" is the GOAT of IPL 🐐💛
— Dwarkesh Dhfm (@DhfmDwarakesh) April 13, 2023
– Ab De Villiers
Slipper shot to #Dhoni haters who trolled him comparing to #Abd 😂🔥
Only one Super One MS Dhoni 🦁🔥 pic.twitter.com/cd3pwkyO1t
It’s worth noting that AB de Villiers has shared the dressing room with some of the most successful players in the history of IPL. He along with Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle was the pillar of Royal Challengers Bangalore side for a number of years scorings tons of runs for his franchise.
When AB de Villiers was asked to name the GOAT of the IPL, most of the cricket fans were expecting him to take Virat Kohli’s name. A few cricket fans were also expecting him to term Chris Gayle as the GOAT of the IPL for the kind of impact he had on his opponents during his peak.
However, he surprised cricket fans by calling MS Dhoni as the GOAT of the IPL. AB de Villiers has himself led the South African team and understands how much effort it takes to constantly get results as the captain of a side.
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The former South African batter must have given importance to MS Dhoni’s exceptional leadership skills before calling him as the GOAT of the IPL. He might have also valued his impact as the finisher as MS Dhoni is hailed as one of the best match-finishers in the history of cricket.