Magical MS Dhoni – The best captain we have ever had!

MS Dhoni

Sachin Tendulkar, who is currently on a holiday break at Mussoorie, must be cherishing the moment when he had suggested MS Dhoni’s name as captain of team India. Sachin would surely be feeling proud to see Dhoni capturing the scene.

Since many years I used to wonder, as to when we will have a clever captain like Ricky Ponting? But thanks to tactful and comprehensive captaincy by MS Dhoni, not only is Team India emerging victorious in all the formats of game, but it also seems that the team is getting better as a unit.

As a wicket-keeper, his contribution behind the wickets is fabulous. He is very quick while making stumpings and is equally wonderful in catching. Also, with his sharp mind, he is capable of changing the field placement quickly and in a result oriented manner. His ability to shuffle the bowlers is really mind boggling. His zeal and commitment towards winning is treated as par excellence.

In yesterdays match at Kochi, he had realized that on that particular pitch, unconventional bowlers like Suresh Raina and Jadeja will be more effective than the regulars like Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Also, handing over the ball to Virat Kohli occasionally – without bothering about the run rate – is part of his strategy to divide focus of the batsmen. Apart from this, maintaining cool temperament in any given tense situation is another speciality of Dhoni. Instead of losing temper, he adopts the tool of encouragement to boost the morale of his team mates, whenever team India needs to outperform, especially in the shorter versions of the game.

He is a very focused and dedicated captain away from any fear or favour. This is also one of the reasons that each of the team members gives his one hundred percent and abides by every signal of the leader. Particularly, he can be seen depicting confidence through his gestures, or quick counselling of the bowlers when the situation is not so favourable. This infuses the confidence and the fighting spirit among the team mates. The way he prefers to lead by example leaves no room for any excuse for anyone. Rather, the whole team appears to be performing in a synchronised manner, complementing each other. This is nothing but sheer magic of a capable leader.

Giving quick appreciations and instantly recognising one’s contribution is another quality Dhoni possesses. Very often this leads to positive results, be it praising a newcomer like Mohammed Shami or the vibrant Virat Kohli.

Even yesterday, he was appreciating the fantastic performance given by Team India. While speaking in the post match ceremony, he praised the spinners by saying that “I think the spinners did the job and kept the pressure on. It was not easy for the opposition to rotate the strike, so they had to go for the big strokes. I thought it was a wicket where the spinners can do the job, so I thought let’s start with Raina.” Dhoni particularly appreciated Raina by saying that “He bowls slightly flattish and can be of good effect with the variable bounce. The first wicket he got – it didn’t bounce much.”

He described the commendable job done by the batsmen by saying “I think they (Dhawan, Rohit, Virat) have been batting really well. Again Virat was brilliant. I thought our batsmen negotiated the new ball really well. There were not many runs to be scored, but still they batted really well, especially against Narine who was spinning it both ways.”

Such comments really boost the entire dressing room. This is why he is a great captain. He holds the record for most innings wins for an Indian captain, and also the most test matches played as skipper.

Incidentally, MSDhoni is the best finisher of the recent times. His selfless game play stands him apart from the rest of the world. For his valuable services rendered, he was also conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

The way our genius captain is moving forward on the path of success, we will see many more forts getting conquered during next 4-5 years time of his leadership. We wish him loads of good luck. He is India’s greatest ever captain!