GT star makes surprising pick of best finisher between MS Dhoni and Ab de Villiers in IPL history

subhradeep-choudhury — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 12:04:46 GMT

GT star makes surprising pick of best IPL finisher between MS Dhoni and Ab de Villiers.

The spin all-rounder of the Gujarat Titans (GT), Rahul Tewatia, has made a shocking revelation on the best finisher of the Indian Premier League (IPL) history between the two successful players, MS Dhoni and Ab de Villiers, during a recent interaction. Playing as a finisher for Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans, he admitted the former Indian captain as his inspiration.

MS Dhoni, the fifth-time IPL winning captain, has an average of 34 and a strike rate of 175 from the 16th to the 20th over of his IPL career. Overall, the right-handed batter smacked 5439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, with the help of 24 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 84 runs.

“When I was young, I used to play leg-spin and bat together. I used to watch Yuvi paaji [Yuvraj Singh]. He looked like a stylish batsman. When Mahi bhai [MS Dhoni] came, I started watching him a lot. I started understanding the game when I got a chance to talk to him. I used to watch Yuvraj Singh and Mahi bhai a lot.” Tewatia expressed during a recent interaction on CricTracker.

Rahul Tewatia picks best finisher of IPL history between MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers

Tewatia’s finishing skills are well known among IPL lovers. Whether his two sixes against Odean Smith or the five sixes against Sheldon Cotrell of the Punjab Kings, the southpaw has earned success at the number six and seven positions. In 77 IPL innings, the left-handed batter has clubbed 1112 runs at a strike rate of 137.11 with one fifty.

“Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) told me about how to finish matches and how to stay in the present. He told me not to think about the past and not to think about the future. That has helped me a lot.” The Haryana all-rounder leaked Dhoni’s suggestion.

The Ranchi-born is also IPL’s most successful captain with 136 victories in 235 games, besides leading the Yellow Army to a joint-record of five IPL titles. However, there is speculation on whether he would be available to feature in the 2026 edition of the league.