When asked about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy, Irfan Pathan said that earlier Dhoni used to control bowlers but later he began to understand them.

India's well-known bowler Irfan Pathan is always in the headlines for his comments. He is often seen on social media giving his opinion about other cricketers. Recently, Irfan Pathan has talked about the captaincy of former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pathan said that during the early stages of captaincy, Dhoni used to try to control the bowlers. But later he began to understand the bowlers and let them control the game.

Pathan was asked about the changes between 2007 and 2013 Dhoni as captain on Star Sports' Cricket Connected show, he said, "This was the first time in 2007 and you were given a big responsibility of leading the team. If you are a little excited, you can understand it. As time passed, Dhoni changed as captain in many ways.’

Pathan said, 'Although the team meeting was always short-lived, in 2007 and also during the 2013 Champions Trophy, just a five-minute meeting. In 2007, he was excited and ran from wicketkeeping to the bowling end and also tried to control the bowlers but in 2013 he let the bowlers control themselves. He became was very calm then.’

Pathan said, ‘Between 2007 and 2013, he gained experience in relying on his slow bowlers and spinners and by the time the Champions Trophy came, he was very clear that he would have to put his spinners to win the match at crucial times. By 2013, Dhoni had started putting spinners in difficult situations to win the match.’

Irfan Pathan was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team and the 2013 Champions Trophy winning team. Irfan has played a lot of cricket under Dhoni's captaincy. Irfan Pathan is among the players who know Mahendra Singh Dhoni closely. Earlier this year, Irfan Pathan retired from all forms of cricket. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is called the most successful captain of India. Dhoni has won many trophies for India, he is considered colder than snow.

Under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India has won the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2010 and 2016 Asia Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. Dhoni is the only captain who has won all the ICC trophies. Dhoni has not played any cricket since the Indian team was eliminated from the semi-finals in the One-Day World Cup last year.

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