MS Dhoni brought about a complete change in cricket with his uncharacteristic leadership style and instincts . During his tenure as captain, MS Dhoni led India to victory in the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
MS Dhoni, arguably the most enigmatic cricketer of his generation, led the Indian cricket team for the first time on 13th September 2007. Dhoni was chosen to captain India after three senior players – Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – all decided to opt out of the first edition of the World T20. India had only played a single T20 international before the tournament but Dhoni’s team went on to become the first ever winners of the competition.
He scored 154 runs in his six innings but it was his leadership that stood out.On Friday, MS Dhoni’s fans took to Twitter to share pictures and post messages with the hashtag “12YearsOfCaptainDhoni” and soon it became the number one trend in India. Indian cricket owes a lot to Dhoni for bringing in a complete change in thinking with his unique and uncanny able to read the game and players.
During his tenure as captain, MS Dhoni led India to victory in the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. But the most important change that he brought about in the game was with his leadership style and ability to take on the pressure, while giving freedom and time for the younger players to get to terms with the game.
Dhoni was the original disrupter in the game by using his instincts and understanding of the game to do away with rules – he never believed in the saying that – ‘this is how it should be’ .His instinct stood out as he approached the game with an uncanny and uncharacteristic ability to read the game better than anybody.
His performance in the IPL is legendary as he has consistently led Chennai Super Kings to almost every final.
MS Dhoni – Test Record
He has a 45% win record overall in Tests while at home he has an impressive record of having won 22 out of 31 tests that he had led at home.
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 27 | 15 | 18 |
| Home | Away | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Played | Won | Draw | Lost |
| 31 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 5 | 9 | 15 |
However, in the recent times, Dhoni has often faced criticism for his poor form and ponderous style of batting. His impending retirement has been one of the most talked about topics in Indian cricket.
Recently, India’s chief selector MSK Prasad cleared the air about the matter. “No update on MS Dhoni’s retirement, the news is incorrect,” MSK Prasad told media after announcing India’s Test squad for the three-match series against South Africa.
Dhoni took a sabbatical from cricket after India’s 50-over World Cup campaign ended in the semi-finals. He missed the three-match T20I series against the West Indies and has not been included in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against a touring South Africa.
This article was originally published on NDTV.com