MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Former India captain MS Dhoni is the most successful limited-overs skipper in India’s history. After being given the captaincy in 2007, Dhoni led India to three ICC titles victory – T20 World Cup 2007, ODI World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy in 2013. The ‘Captain-Cool’ was given the leadership role in the 2007 T20 World Cup after several senior players went out of the national setup.
The decision proved to be a masterstroke as Indian cricket reached new heights with Dhoni at the helm. Reflecting on his appointment as captain, former India selector Bhupinder Singh revealed that the board was impressed with Dhoni’s approach to the game, body language and how he spoke to others and hence was awarded captaincy.
“Apart from being an automatic choice in the team, you look at the player’s cricketing acumen, body language, ability to lead from the front and man management skills. We saw Dhoni’s approach to the game, body language, how he spoke to others; we got a positive feedback,” Singh told Hindustan Times in an interview.
Dhoni’s leadership has had a lasting impact on Indian cricket as he groomed India’s current cricketing stalwarts namely Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli under his leadership. The wicketkeeper-batter promoted Rohit up the order and asked him to open the innings, which worked wonders for him and India as he is counted amongst the greatest openers in ODI cricket.
India yet to win ICC title after Dhoni stepped down as captain
On the other hand, Kohli had revealed in an interview that Dhoni protected him while the selectors wanted to drop him from the team. It needs no telling that today Kohli is counted among the greatest batters in the history of the game and he eventually became Dhoni’s successor as India’s captain.
However, Dhoni’s Midas touch is missed by Indian fans till date as the Asian giants are yet to win an ICC title ever since Dhoni stepped down as captain. India managed to play two finals and a semi-final under Kohli’s captaincy but ended up losing them all. On the other hand, they have lost one ICC semi-final and a final in Rohit’s captaincy so far.