MS Dhoni has surpassed Sourav Ganguly as India’s most successful skipper with 22 Test wins. TOI takes a look at what makes the Indian captain tick…
Calm and Composed: Both VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid have mentioned during their commentary stints that the one quality that serves MS Dhoni well is his equanimity. Even after the World Cup win, he didn’t get too delirious. One also didn’t find him flustered or depressed after humiliating defeats in England and Australia. His phlegmatic nature has helped him keep things in perspective in a country where emotions can be extreme.
Hands-on, but not too over-bearing: It’s no secret that Dhoni enjoys leading a young group and prefers to empower them with confidence and promise of a long run. As skipper, he also likes to give the players a free hand. Players like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara have all revelled under him.
Solid contributor down the order: The 31-year-old has played momentum-changing knocks. In Chennai, his brutal 224 was morale-sapping for the Aussies. In conditions where the ball doesn’t move or bounce, he has murdered even good attacks with his strong bottom-hand style of batting. Even bowlers like Steyn and Morkel bore the burnt of his fury in Kolkata in 2010.
Inheritor of a great side: The transition from Kumble to Dhoni was largely free of turbulence because India had a settled side. Who wouldn’t want to captain a team with batsmen like Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman? The quintet was in peak form from 2008 to 2011 with Tendulkar and Dravid enjoying a productive second wind. Before R Ashwin emerged on the scene, the bowling too was in good hands with Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh forming a penetrative quartet.
Maximised Home advantage: Kumble’s departure as skipper proved timely as Dhoni got to captain a side that was scheduled to play plenty of Tests at home or in subcontinent conditions for almost two and a half years. Barring the Test series in New Zealand in early 2009, India played in Asia till Dec 2010, when they played in South Africa. It allowed Dhoni the time to settle down as skipper, in conditions where he could control the game. His struggles started from the tour of England post the World Cup, where the batsmen failed collectively and key bowlers like Zaheer Khan got injured.
Reinvented himself As skipper: Dhoni appeared stale and defensive in Australia and in the home series against England. His fields were defensive and he became more of a reactive captain. That his bowlers weren’t consistent and his batsmen were in poor form didn’t help. Now that the runs are flowing again and Ashwin is back to his very best, one is seeing a more expressive Dhoni, both as captain and skipper.
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