Mahendra Singh Dhoni, one of the most dynamic captain on the field , a personality I truly adore. Dhoni is known as one of the best ODI captain the game of cricket has seen and will forever be for a very long time. Some of his decisions on the field will make you scratch your head. People think he is a person who always follow his instincts, makes decision by his gut feelings and what not but in my opinion he is the better observer of the game.
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the 2007 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20, the Commonwealth Bank Series of 2007–08, the 2010 Asia Cup, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
The list of his achievements would use our entire column space if I didn't stop here.
Some of his qualities which makes people go crazy are as follows-
1) Handling Success -
People who gain success in their early stage of career often lose their balance.Mahendra Singh Dhoni who got success in his early stage of career but he was, and still is humble and modest. He does not get over- emotional in victory, or in defeat. He knows how to handle success.
2) Trust your instinct -
I have never seen a better observer of the game than MS Dhoni. Dhoni always follow his instincts and make decision by his gut feelings.
Let me explain you this with a example:
Who can forget the famous league match between India and Pakistan which resulted in a TIED situation. The result of the match was to be decided by a bowl-out. And no surprises, India won the bowl-out encounter thus extending their unbeaten record against their arch rivals
in World Cup.
The standout personalities in this encounter were Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa.
While any other captain would prefer regular bowlers in such a pressure cooker situation just as Pakistan did but Dhoni chose two part timers. To say the least, Robin Uthappa wasn't even the part time bowler. He was a wicket-keeper batsman who could roll over his arm just like MS Dhoni himself or AB de Villiers. WHY did he chose Robin Uthappa ??
Something unusual, isn't it. Well Dhoni is best known for this something unusual, be it promoting himself ahead of inform Yuvraj in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final, or asking Ishant Sharma to bowl short to England batsman at Lord's during India tour of England 2014 which India won out of nowhere.
3) Competitor respect -
In sport or in any other field , you know you have achieved a milestone when your opponents take you seriously and allow themselves to show a degree of respect to you.
Dhoni has made that happen by his consistent, calm behavior. You will never find Dhoni as a part of sledging on the field.
4) Lead from the front -
On numerous occasions, Mahi single handedly won matches for India. He has been amongst the ICC top 10 batsmen in ODIs for past any years and is a tremendous and an extra-ordinary finisher of the game. A team leader should be able to lead by example especially when the team
needs the most. No one can forget the inning played by MSD in 2011 World Cup Final at Wankhede, Mumbai. He rose up to the occasion and played decisive role in the victory.
5) His wicket keeping skills -
He is probably the best wicket keeper in recent times India has seen. He is the fastest wicket keeper as well as he can take wickets even if there is slightest possibility of stumping or run out.
He has unique style of wicket keeping which makes him different from other wicket-keepers.
Do you know?
M S Dhoni holds the record for fastest stumping. He did it in just 0.09 seconds while it takes around 0.3 seconds for us to blink our eye!!!!!!
6) His power -
No one can field the ball, when Dhoni hits it with power. This is a thing with him, when he hits the ball, he hits the ball and this moment is something every Dhoni fan waits for.
7) Share the credit -
Dhoni has always taken the responsibility of loss but you'll never find MSD take the credit for the team's victory. Be it in the interviews, post-match presentations or press conferences, he never
boasts about himself, rather he talks about the team effort. This is necessary to bring out confidence in team members, make them feel secure and inspire them to perform.
8) Staying Focused -
Being able to insulate yourself from your environment is vital for success, and Dhoni demonstrated this during the Champions Trophy when there was controversy over the Indian Premier League. An ability to cut through distraction and negative energy is one of the best marks of a leader in every situation. Dhoni competes with himself at all times.
9) His Attitude -
This is the best thing about him. When he walks down the field, the way he carries himself, the way he motivates players , the way he sets up the field is simply amazing. Currently he is not captain of the team but he contributes in each and every game in the best possible way.
10) His leadership skills -
He is the best captain India has ever seen. And after leaving captaincy even , he is the virtual on-field captain . He is often seen advicing Virat and other players towards their game. This shows his commitment towards his team.
“Dhoni is the best captain I have played under.”- Sachin Tendulkar
“If 15 runs needed off the last over , pressure is on the bowler not on MS Dhoni”- Ian Bishop
“The coolest man in the world cricket, MS Dhoni delivers when it most matters!” - Michael Vaughan
“When I die ,the last thing I want to see is the six that Dhoni hit in the 2011 World Cup final” - Sunil Gavaskar
“If Dhoni plays till the end,one thing is for sure,he will make his team win” - Harsha Bhogle
