Top 3 unknown incidents which prove MS Dhoni's greatness

MS Dhoni- the name itself creates an image of a captain in our minds. Even though he is no more the skipper of the side, but still, he remains the leader whenever he steps into the ground.

Even when the Indian team is bowling, he remains at the helm of affairs directing the bowlers(thanks to the stump microphones), monitoring the field and assisting Kohli in critical situations.

Dhoni is calm but still aggressive in his own ways: his astute mind and street smartness are second to none.

Captaining the Indian cricket team for a decade is no easy task, but he handled it with a calm and graceful demeanor.

From his illustrious career, we choose top 3 unknown incidents which proved his mettle as a true captain.

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1. CB Series 2008(4th game Ind V Aus at the MCG)

MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma with a gentle smile after the victory

Beating Australia in Australia has always been a herculean task and a loss for the Aussies was more of an upset back then.

It was the league stage of the CB Series and the Indian bowlers restricted the Aussies to 159. Chasing the total, with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma at the crease, India required final 10 runs to win the match.

At this juncture, MSD strangely called for a strange change of gloves. It was Suresh Raina who carried the gloves. Actually, he was sending a vital message back to the pavilion. "Nobody will celebrate on the balcony once we win this match".

Meanwhile, in the middle, Dhoni was handing down instructions to Rohit, on how the youngster should conduct himself while shaking hands with the Aussies once the match got over.

Dhoni wanted to prove that the Indian victory was not just an upset, it was a clinical victory.

This was a brilliant mind game which befuddled the invincible Aussie team. This message got into the minds of the Aussies and eventually, India won the CB Series.

2. Handing over the winning trophy to the youngsters

Dhoni giving the stage to the youngsters

This practice in the Indian team was started by MS Dhoni way back in the 2007 T20 World Cup and it has been followed ever since.

Be it 2007 T20 WC, 2011 50 Over WC, 2013 Champions Trophy, IPL victories; Dhoni always creates a sense of comfort for the youngsters around him.

Dhoni has been credited by many players such as Kuldeep Yadav, Chahal, Deepak Chahar for the calmness which he induces into the individual.

Even in the current Indian team set up and the CSK franchise, MS Dhoni gets a lot of respect and adulation from his teammates.

3. Handling the transition from a team of legends to youngsters

MSD shared a great bond with senior cricketers

MS Dhoni has led legends of Indian cricket including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh in the earlier part of his career. He had the utmost respect for them and shared a great camaraderie with all of them.

However, these players eventually retired and made places for newer talent in the Indian team. Dhoni handled that phase smoothly and allowed the newcomers to ease in and not be bogged down by the pressure of the big boots to fill in.

We have the current Indian players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Bhuwaneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, R Jadeja who all started their career under the tutelage of Dhoni.

MS Dhoni is once in a generation player. Towards the end of his illustrious career, he would surely like to contribute in a major way in India's campaign at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.