An honest man and a stubborn captain: Duncan Fletcher on MS Dhoni

Coach Duncan Fletcher (L) with captain MS Dhoni

Indian cricket coach Duncan Fletcher has heaped praises on captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his latest interview to the BCCI.tv, saying that the 33-year-old is “very honest”, doesn’t let pressure get to him and is very supportive of the players.

“He leads from the front. When he comes out to bat under pressure, that’s when he is very, very good,” Fletcher said.

“He is the first one to get out of the trench and is basically saying, ‘guys, I am going to do it and you just have to follow suit’. I have seen many captains who are good leaders when things are fine. But when pressure comes on, things start to fall all over around them. That’s where MS is outstanding. He soaks in the pressure and leads the path for the team to follow,” the Zimbabwean added.

First time with Dhoni

The first thing that struck the 65-year-old was how honest Dhoni is, he said, before adding that it did not take much time for him to build a rapport with the skipper.

“I think I got along with MS very quickly, since the first time I met him when I flew over to Mumbai to pick the squad for the West Indies series. I think he is a very easy guy to get along with and I was pretty fortunate in that regards.

“I think anyone would gel well with him because he is approachable, he never pre-judges anyone and always looks to spend time with you and talk to you before he forms an opinion about you,” he said.

As a coach, Fletcher has been through a tough period, having seen India lose a Test series in every country that they have toured since the series triumph in West Indies in 2011. On how it affected their relationship, Fletcher said: “I don’t think it changes(during losses). When you go through a bad phase, you only see the true character of the person. It goes for the players as well as leaders. And you see that with MS. He doesn’t get overexcited when we do well and stays calm when there is real pressure. That is so important.

“As captain and coach, you have got to keep the side motivated, try to keep the humour going in the change room. We ensured that the players were still enjoying their game and didn’t try to change things with tick boxes.”

Stubborn captain

While Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour, Fletcher feels that the Indian captain is stubborn and that it is very difficult to change his opinion; however, he doesn’t see anything wrong with it and instead feels that is how a captain should be.

“It is not easy to change his mind, and that’s how it should be. A leader should be stubborn. If he is indecisive, how can he lead the team under pressure? You’ve got to have a stubborn streak in you. If you don’t have it, you’ll go out there with your mind floating around amid so many ideas and that’s a problem. The good captains will make more right stubborn decisions than wrong ones,” said Fletcher.