5 cricketers who caught MS Dhoni's eye

MS Dhoni is known to be one of the greatest captains ever in Indian cricket. Out of the many leadership traits that Dhoni possesses, the prominent one is the way in which he is able to spot talent in players who may not look the part to most others.The most recent instance of a cricketer catching Dhoni's eye is the case of Hardik Pandya. Drafted into the Indian side at the back of an impressive 2015 IPL, Pandya has been very quick to win the favour of his skipper, who feels that the Baroda youngster is the all-rounder that the team needs.In the past too, there have been some cricketers in whom Dhoni has identified bundles of talent and he has used them to the best of their abilities. While a few of them managed to graduate to the national side, the others became popular names in the IPL.Here are 5 players who caught MS Dhoni's eye:

#5 Joginder Sharma

Joginder Sharma was used by Dhoni as a secret weapon

India may have won the inaugural edition of the World Twenty20 thanks to a spectacular team performance, but the winning moment belonged none other than Joginder Sharma. The Haryana allrounder needed to defend 13 runs in the last over of the final against Pakistan and he managed to get rid of set batsman Misbah-ul-Haq to seal the deal for India.

However, the mastermind behind this epic move was Indian skipper MS Dhoni and made Joginder an overnight sensation. In the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, Sharma was drafted into the Chennai Super Kings squad, where Dhoni was his captain once again.

Joginder Sharma may not have done much of note post his moment of brilliance at the World Twenty20, but he was one of the players who caught Dhoni's eye.

#4 Shadab Jakati

MS Dhoni brought out the match winner in Shadab Jakati

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati had spent almost a decade playing domestic cricket for his state side Goa before the very first season of the IPL happened. Jakati was chosen to play for the Chennai Super Kings and little did he know that things were going to change for him quite drastically.

MS Dhoni was quick to recognise the veteran spinner's abilities and utilised them in the best possible manner for Chennai Super Kings. Slowly, Jakati became Dhoni's go-to man with the ball in difficult situations and the fact that he responded positively made things even better.

In 2009's successful campaign for CSK, Shadab Jakati played a pivotal role with his 13 wickets in the season. The Goa left-arm spinner was recently picked up by Gujarat Lions at the 2016 IPL auction.

#3 Manpreet Gony

No one knew Manpreet Gony until Dhoni identified his talent

Punjab fast bowler Manpreet Gony was hardly a known face before the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. Gony was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings and was pretty quick in making an impression on his captain MS Dhoni.

Dhoni, who is known to back talented youngsters, made the tall paceman the frontline bowler for his team and things seemed to work out. By the end of the season, Manpreet Gony emerged as the leading wicket-taker for his franchise and also turned out to be one of the best bowlers of the tournament.

His fine performance in the IPL also earned him a couple of ODI caps in the Asia Cup that followed, but could not hang around for too long. However, Gony did play for CSK for another couple of years before moving to other franchises.

#2 Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma has thrived under MS Dhoni’s leadership

Mohit Sharma had made quite an impact in his first couple of seasons of the Ranji Trophy by picking up wickets on a consistent basis. However, despite this, the young bowler from Haryana was largely unknown in the Indian cricketing circles.

The 2013 IPL season was the major turning point in Mohit's career as he managed to catch the eye of his skipper at Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni. Things quickly worked out for him as Dhoni entrusted him with the new ball and he responded with results.

Mohit Sharma's association with MSD reached the next level when the former was chosen to play for the national team. Here too, the Haryana pacer became Dhoni's go-to man with the ball and he produced the goods on most occasions.

At present, Mohit is out with injury but is likely to be back in favour once he returns under MS Dhoni.

#1 Pawan Negi

MS Dhoni discovered the all-rounder in young Pawan Negi

For the first couple of years in his IPL career, Pawan Negi used to play for the Delhi Daredevils franchise; however, he was not a very popular face. But ever since Negi signed up for Chennai Super Kings for the 2014 season, his fortunes have transformed for the better.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni was perhaps the first individual to recognise the left-arm spinner's all-round talent. On a number of occasions, Dhoni promoted Negi up the order to score quick runs and the youngster delivered the goods for him.

MSD's backing gave Pawan Negi's career a tremendous boost as he not only made it to the Indian T20I squad, but also bagged a million-dollar deal with his previous franchise at the 2016 IPL auction.