Sachin Tendulkar's Values Made Him Easiest Player to Work With: Gary Kirsten

Former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten, who played a crucial role along side MS Dhoni when India won the 2011 World Cup in India, said that the legendary Sachin Tendulkar is the easiest cricketer he has worked with.

Kirsten coached India for three years between 2008-2011 and admitted to it being one his most cherished periods in the game.

“Sachin (Tendulkar) was easy to work with because he has such a strong value system as a person. Virat (Kohli) was potentially a great player in 2011 and he is one of the greatest now,” Kirsten told Times of India.

“I loved coaching the Indian team. It was one of the best privileges of my life. It was a fantastic journey with the players and very fond memories of the World Cup. There were a lot of expectations from the players to win the World Cup and they handled it incredibly well.”

The former India coach also touched upon the much talked about future of Dhoni and explained that it is essentially a decision for the player to make.

"MS (Dhoni) is an incredible cricketer. Intelligence, calmness, power, athleticism, speed and a match-winner separate him from others and puts him amongst the greatest sportsmen in the modern era," Kirsten said.

"He (Dhoni) has earned the right to leave the game on his own terms and no one should dictate to him when that time is."

Speculations over MS Dhoni's international future have been rife ever since the former India captain took a sabbatical from competitive cricket after the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni has not played international cricket since India's defeat to New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup.

However recently, social media saw a trend #DhoniRetires which caused mayhem amongst fans before his wife cleared the air.

“Its only rumours ! I understand Lockdown has made people mentally unstable ! #DhoniRetires ..Get a life !” her tweet read. She later deleted the tweet.