India has successfully completed another series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, this time against New Zealand. Tuesday (April 7, 2009) will forever be remembered in Indian cricket as the day when Dhoni and his Band of Fearless conquered Kiwiland after a gap of 41 years.
Just imagine, 41 years. PHEW. That number could even be an individual's life-span. After countless forays over the years since 1968, it needed the astute leadership of a middle-class boy from Jharkhand (Those super bikes and other luxuries are rather late entries in Dhoni's life) for India to break the New Zealand jinx.
During one of the press conferences in New Zealand, Dhoni spoke about the team not missing him and that comment could only be out of his modesty. The value of Dhoni's captaincy was obvious when he was forced to sit out of the second Test in Napier with a back spasm. There was something missing in Indian ranks, and that intangible 'something' makes Dhoni an indivisible part of this Indian team.
During India's Sri Lankan trip earlier this year for a one-day series, I had a chance to ask MS about the pressures of handling captaincy in three different formats -- Tests, ODIs and T20.
"The three forms – Test, one-day and T20 – have different demands on a captain. Test is all about endurance and in T20 you have to make frequent changes in quick time, which can be tricky at times. But one-dayer comes in between a Test match and T20. You have to have a plan in place always in one-dayers, and implement them over a period of time."
His words underline the fact that beneath that ever-smiling face and casual demeanour there is a keen thinker of cricket and its intricacies. That is reason number one for his success as the captain of the side.
During the Lankan trip, I also got a chance to ask one of the cricketers about MS' leadership skills. "Bhai, he does not put any undue pressure on you, and gives a lot of space and freedom for us as individuals. He is always available there for a talk or he is ready to put an arm around you when the going is not good for us," he said. Reason number two for MS' success: excellent man management skills.
That skill of him was put to test last year when the word spread about his possible resignation from the post over the exclusion of Rudra Pratap Singh for the last four one-dayers against England. MS tackled the questions with characteristic aplomb during a press do in Bangalore, and made his annoyance clear without pointing his fingers to anybody in particular. Reason number three for MS' success: A cool head and temperament even in the most difficult situations.
During the Nagpur Test against Australia last year, MS allowed Sourav Ganguly, who was playing his last Test, to captain the side for a few overs. Ganguly later admitted that the move came as a surprise for him. It was also an answer to those Doubting Thomasses, who pondered over MS' ability to lead a side filled with ex-captains (Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid), and aspirants for the hot seat (Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh). Reason number four for MS' success: Ability to strike a chord with both seniors and juniors in the side.
The burden of captaincy has not affected his wicketkeeping or batting. Of late, though, the calculated risk-taker with the willow has replaced the brazen stroke-maker of the old. Reason number five of MS' success: Ability to adapt to different circumstances and roles.
Congrats MS for your latest success. But guys, be ready to invent more hosannas for MSD!
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