Star English all-rounder Moeen Ali, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and was part of the ODI World Cup last year, thinks a bit differently when it comes to naming the greatest Indian cricketer. Instead of choosing Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar, he picks former Indian captain MS Dhoni as the best ever.
In a video getting lots of views online, the 36-year-old player, who has captained England before, was asked about his top 5 Indian players. He put Dhoni at No. 1, followed by Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh. Notably, Rohit Sharma and Indian bowlers didn’t make it to his list.
According to Ali, “For me, No. 1 is Dhoni. He was a great player, but people forget how good he was. It is everything he won as a captain for India. Virat (Kohli) is No. 2 because he is great and one of the best players.”
He continued, “It pains me to say this, but he (Sachin) is No. 3 because of him being Sachin, and I think he started the art of proper batting.”
Ali’s fourth and fifth picks are Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. “My favorite batter is Virender Sehwag because he was something different. The way he batted in Test matches, ODIs, and T20s, he scored massive, and he absolutely destroyed bowlers,” Ali said.
“The guy I looked up to as a batter… in terms of… of course, I would try to copy up to a certain extent, and people have compared me to him a little bit, so it’s Yuvraj Singh. The bat swing, the way he played, and his bat swing was amazing to watch. When in form, he was the best player to watch,” Ali added.
