10 Reasons Why MS Dhoni Is The Most Reliable Captain India Has Ever Seen

When you see MS Dhoni standing behind the stumps, scanning the field in and out with narrowed eyes, you can feel it in his gaze that he knows what he’s doing. That’s the thing about the Indian skipper – his mind works like a chess grand master and his body is as agile as a gazelle, making him one of the most terrific leaders the Indian cricket team has ever seen.

Let’s find out the things that sum up to make him the most reliable Indian captain ever.

1. Captaincy didn’t come in the way of performance

We have had some great captains in the last decades but in most cases, the humongous pressure of captaincy had taken a toll on the player.

Dhoni, since 2007, has proven to be a player who hasn’t compromised on his batting because of the added responsibilities. Runs have always come out of Dhoni’s willow and it continues to do so.

 

2. His temperament is indomitable

There’s a reason why he’s called Captain cool – MS Dhoni is always well put together. It is the third generation Indian cricket team that is following the footsteps of Saurav Ganguly’s aggression and it is very important to have a level-headed anchor to this ship full of young and blazing guns.

Win or lose, Dhoni maintains a charming stoicism that makes him look all the more invincible to the opponents.

 

3. He’s one of the most essential contributors to the team

There have been a lot of instances where international cricket captains have been condoned for their lack of performance in the team only because of their leadership skills. MS Dhoni, the most successful captain of Indian cricket who could have easily slacked off in performance at the expense of his unparalleled captaincy, continues to serve the team as a formidable middle order batsman and a world class wicket-keeper – a position where you can’t help but follow every single ball of the game like a hawk.

 

4. Everything about him is an example to juniors

If the job of a captain is to inspire his team, nobody does it better than MS Dhoni. He is 34 years old but runs like a 14-year-old between the wickets which is hard for half the team members to match up with. He shows the team how to squeeze out every single run from the opponents, play the most unconventional shots, make the crowd roar for more and yet, never get carried away.

 

5. Backing the every member of the team

No matter how much resentment Yograj Singh may nurse against the Indian skipper, Dhoni backs his boys like a captain should. He has a gift of understanding the strength and weaknesses of his players and he knows how to bring the best out of them.

Promoting Rohit Sharma to the opener’s position, getting Joginder Sharma to do the last over at the 2007 World Cup final, opting for Yuvraj instead of Jadeja for the World Cup, shaping Jadeja and Ashwin’s career in the team are just a few examples how he has been the best leader a team could ask for.

 

6. Because the God has said so

When the greatest cricketer of all times, Sachin Tendulkar says that Dhoni is the best captain he has played under, there is absolutely no room for a debate. Sachin Tendulkar has played international cricket under nine different captains and among them he choses MS Dhoni as his favourite – the guy who finally manages to get Sachin what he had always dreamt of – holding the World Cup.

 

7. Handling the press

When the reporters are looking at you like sharks, hoping you’d say something controversial, every word you speak is crucial because the way they’d be interpreted in the media will affect the morale of the team, especially if the words have come from the Captain himself. The world’s best Googly spinners couldn’t get the better of Dhoni so how would reporters ever get him stumped with their twisted questions?

Very recently, an Australian journo asked him if he was keen on continuing to play until the next world cup. Dhoni, quite unexpectedly called him up on the podium to sit beside him and this happened.

Dhoni: Do you want me to retire?
Journalist: Not that I want, That’s what I want to ask you
Dhoni: I was hoping it was an Indian media guy because I can’t really ask you if you have a son or a brother who is a wicketkeeper?
Journalist: No. You’re very fast.
Dhoni: Do you think I can survive until 2019 (50-over) World Cup?
Journalist: Yes you should, sure.
Dhoni: Then you have answered the question!

 

8. No cheap tactics

They call it the gentleman’s game but not everyone sticks to the code these days. Skippers like Andrew Flintoff, Ricky Ponting, Shahid Afridi and even Saurav Ganguly, to some extent, have resorted to intimidation through sledging and aggressive body language, making it quite a norm in the modern cricketing world.

However, MS Dhoni has maintained his no-nonsense policy in the field from day one and has never used anything but a sharp and strategical mind, his sheer cricketing prowess to keep the odds in his favor.

 

9. International players love playing under him

Anyone who has ever played under MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings has seen him as nothing short of a role model. While Dwayne Smith had mentioned how MS Dhoni let every player in the team a chance to succeed, Brendon McCullum of New Zealand describes him as “the only leader in a team of captains.” A legendary cricketer, Michael Hussey, who is known for not letting go off the number 1 position in the ICC rankings, had confessed he is lucky to have been able to play under the leadership of Dhoni.

 

10. Because stats don’t lie

The Indian cricket team has never been as successful as it has been under the leadership of this man. A World Cup in every format of the game is something other Indian captains have only dreamt of. Chennai Super Kings, the cricket franchise led by Dhoni has been the most successful team in the IPL as well.

Some people try to downplay his achievement saying he has been lucky, but that would be the most juvenile analysis of Dhoni’s terrific success as the Indian captain.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to say that Dhoni is the most dependable captain India has ever seen. Maybe this is why Dhoni ensures that a brand is as reliable as him before endorsing it. See what he did when Lava Mobiles approached him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLivHk5jHTA&list=PLDLRU61Ibuqu4XpFK8Q4k8F-I7o4HLjod&index=1

Thank-you, Captain!

This story is brought to you in association with Lava Mobiles.