Another landmark achievement approaches for the great captain MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

Amidst the disappointment of defeat for Team India and the loss for chess legend Viswanathan Anand, a very heartening piece of news has come up. MS Dhoni has completed 150 ODIs as the captain of the Indian cricket team. Already one of the most successful captains of India, Dhoni is just 25 ODIs away from overcoming the record of 174 matches as captain, held by Mohammad Azharuddin.

Also, he has become the 6th best batsman in terms of sixes hit in ODIs – he has hit 165. Sachin Tendulkar currently holds 4th place in that list with 195 sixes. Dhoni will likely overtake Tendulkar’s tally soon.

So far Dhoni has won a total of 87 matches and has lost 50. It is also predicted that Dhoni will beat the record of Mohammad Azharuddin, who has a record of 90 wins in ODIs. But while keeping an eye on the records held by Dhoni, generally we tend to forget the sweat and toil put in by him. The way he is moving forward, he will definitely be able to create many more records.

It takes a lot of guts, hard work and determination to achieve so much. The year 2013 has been very significant for Dhoni. England, Australia, Zimbabwe, West Indies – you name any team and Dhoni has beaten them! I would specifically like to mention his excellent captaincy skills displayed in England during the Champions Trophy. He showed wisdom, bold decision-making and an aggressive attitude – and all with a positive approach. He fruitfully utilized his unparalleled skill of getting the best out of the squad. It is pertinent to add that captains usually come across various challenges – and he has coped wonderfully.

Amongst the ever increasing competition in the cricketing world today, a captain has to have the skill, strategy, communication skills and zeal to get the desired results time and again. Fortunately for us, Dhoni has got all these qualities. His risk taking ability, especially in terms of experimenting with the bowlers, has proved a key factor in his journey of success. Also, his ability to handle pressure in challenging situations is simply par excellence. Additionally, he gives a tremendous contribution by way of keeping wickets in a very effective manner.

Many of his fans admire him for infusing the right spirit among his team mates even when winning appears to be very difficult. He always prefers to come upfront by putting his own dedicated efforts.

I believe that we are simply lucky to have a gem of a person like Mahi as our captain. He is a rare combination of brilliance, hard work and self esteem. It will be a delight to watch him play for another 5-6 years and I am sure under his able leadership Team India will be scaling new heights.