Data | M.S. Dhoni's place among cricket's elite

Two-time World Cup-winning former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from international cricket on August 15, ending over one year of suspense and also an era during which his often unorthodox leadership and finishing skills became the stuff of legends. (Source: Reuters)

A look at cricketers based on their relative performance vis-a-vis their peers shows M.S. Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, as being among the best limited overs batsman-wicketkeeepers and an above-average Test player. As India’s captain, his performance was surpassed only by his successor Virat Kohli.

ODI record

When we compare greats, it is not enough to look at their batting averages and strike rates alone. Strike rates (runs per 100 balls) in ODIs increased dramatically for batsmen in the 2000s, for example.

A better comparison of players across generations would therefore compare their relative performance among their own peers. In other words, we need to compare their net averages and strike rates - the difference between their averages / strike rates and those of players who played during their spans.

For example, in order to compare Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards, we do the following. Sachin's average was 44.83 and his career spanned from 1989 to 2012. The batting average for all batsmen during that period was calculated to be 29.79. Sachin's net average is therefore 15.04. Similarly, Viv Richards, who played from 1975 to 1991, had an average of 47. The average of all players who played during his career was 28.38, leading to a net average of 18.62 for him which is 3.58 runs more than Sachin's. A similar process is done for computing net strike rate.

In terms of net average and net strike rate, Dhoni was among only three wicket-keepers (red circles denote WKs) in the elite (high net SR & high net avg, shaded region) in ODIs. Only batsmen who scored more than 5,000 runs are considered.

MSD chart 1

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Test record

The chart plots the number of stumpings and catches by a wicketkeeper per innings against his net average in Tests. Dhoni effected 1.77 dismissals per innings with a net average of 3.51, featuring among the elite in these metrics in Tests. Keepers with at least 50 dismissals are considered.

MSD chart 2 

Captaincy record

The tables list the five players with the most matches as captains in ODIs, T20Is and Tests, and the five captains with the best win % in T20Is (at least 25 matches), ODIs (50 matches) and Tests (40 matches).

Dhoni had a high workload, featuring in the top 5 for most matches as captain in both ODIs and T20Is. In terms of win %, he ranks among the top 10 in T20Is.

MSD chart 3 

Source: ESPNCricinfo