4 reasons why MS Dhoni is the best Indian captain ever

Over the past few years, India have witnessed numerous captains who have led them in different situations and tournaments. Beginning from CK Nayadu to Virat Kohli, every skipper has tried his level best to get India to the top.

India's first prominent captain was Kapil Dev who led the side to glory in the 1983 World Cup. They started the tournament as underdogs but were rated highly at the end of it. Indian cricket fans born in the 1990s will tell you about how Sourav Ganguly helped the team to win overseas using his aggressive attitude. Dada was the one who was responsible for making a balanced Indian side in the early 2000s.

Under the leadership of Ganguly, a young MS Dhoni made his debut. 2007 was the breakthrough year for him as he led India to the title in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa. The former skipper has never looked back since.

Dhoni stepped down from captaincy on 4th January 2017 after leading the Indian side in 331 matches across all formats. On this note let us have a look at why Dhoni is the best Indian captain ever.

#4 Out-of-the-box tactics

Howzat?

The former Indian skipper is famous for his out of the box tactics. On most occasions, Dhoni has had the better of the opposition players because of his on-field tactics. From his fielding positions to his playing eleven, he got most of them right in his 10 years of captaincy.

In the 2011 World Cup Indian persisted with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for the most part of the tournament but Dhoni brought in Ravichandran Ashwin for the quarter-final to surprise the opposition. Ashwin took the new ball ahead of Zaheer Khan and ended with figures of 2 for 52 in his 10 overs. He took the important wickets of Shane Watson and Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

Promoting himself to number five in the final of the 2011 World Cup was indeed the biggest gamble of his career. He promoted himself ahead of an in-form Yuvraj Singh and went on to win the match and the World Cup for India.

#3 Risk taker

Remember the famous Lord's test?

The experienced campaigner is unarguably one of the greatest risk takers that the game has ever seen. The last over of the 2007 T20 World Cup was a sign of the risks that the young captain would take in the coming years. Joginder Sharma dismissed Misbah Ul Haq in the final over of the innings to win the game for India.

In the 2013 Champions Trophy final the Indian skipper handed the ball to Ishant Sharma who was expensive on the day. Sharma conceded a six from Eoin Morgan but came back strongly to take two wickets in the over. This over brought India back into the game and also helped them to clinch the title.

In 2014, the fans witnessed more risks at the iconic venue of Lord's. England required 80 odd runs to win before Ishant Sharma started bowling bouncers. The criticism started from the commentary box but Dhoni decided to let Ishant continue with this line and length. The tall lanky pacer delivered, picking up 7 for 74 in the game and India won a game at Lord's after a wait of 28 years.

As stated earlier, his promotion in the 2011 World Cup final was the biggest gamble of his career but the tactical move paid off as he went onto score an unbeaten 91 to guide the Men in Blue to a World Cup win after 28 years.

#2 Instincts from behind the stumps

"Dande pe daal Chahal"

MS Dhoni's instincts from behind the stumps are well known to all. He often guides the bowlers from behind the stumps as he has the best view of the game. Even after his resignation as the skipper, he has guided captain Kohli regarding field adjustments and bowling changes.

His wicketkeeping tricks also surprise the batsmen. The best example of this is the 2016 T20 World Cup. In the last over of India Bangladesh game, Dhoni first brought Hardik Pandya to bowl, taking a major risk and took off his right glove when 2 runs were required off the final delivery.

The skipper had already interpreted the possibilities that could happen on the last ball. The batsman missed the ball and Dhoni ran to the stumps to break them. Owing to his quick instincts India won the game by 1 run.

#1 Taking responsibility and promoting young talent

All Smiles

"I need to blame myself. I am the leader of the side. I am the main culprit so of course, I blame myself", MS Dhoni quoted after a defeat. The former Indian skipper always took the responsibility of any defeat. He never let one of his players face criticism and took it all upon himself.

Dhoni always trusted the youngsters and his faith paid off. During his tenure at the Chennai Super Kings, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja learned a lot of things which helped them get better. Both Ashwin and Jadeja are now an integral part of the Indian Test side.

He also backed Rohit Sharma to open the innings even after multiple failures and the Mumbai batsman broke quite a few records while opening for the Men in Blue.