With no disrespect to the great Indian cricket stalwarts like Sachin, Saurav, Rahul, VVS, Sehwag and Kumble among others (of course,not going back to the older generation of the likes of Gavaskar), one of the most beautiful thing to happen to Indian cricket in recent past is MSD. Yes, MS Dhoni. He justified his entry into the Indian cricket team with his explosive centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, just a few matches after his debut. India lacked a quality wicket-keeper batsman since Nayan Mongia(though I don't mean that MS is a better keeper than Mongia ). Many people will agree that MS is not a technically perfect batsman (can't enjoy the place as Sachin,Dravid or VVS) or even a completely skillful keeper ( as Mongia or Kirmani). But he has that charisma in him with which he has managed such a terrific success as a captain. (Ganguly gave some glimpses of his' during his tenure, but there were a few things which went against him-we're not discussing it here). MS is a thinker and his cricketing brain must be working 24X7 throughout any series. Being a wicket-keeper also helps him to read the batsman's mind.He knows exactly what forces to deploy in a given situation. Like in a recent test against Australia, when Ishant and Zaheer bowled in tandem for almost a session, barely giving 40 runs in between. Australians termed it as negative tactic but Dhoni knew what he was doing and later, many viewed it as a turning point of the match. And how can we forget the T20 World Cup trimph in South Africa when he throwed the bowl to Jogi for the final over ? Though it was a pure gamble I feel.
In the last decade or so, Azhar and Ganguly have impressed with their captaincy but they buckled under pressure in most of the situations, as far as their individual performances were concerned. When Dravid and Tendulkar were at the helm, they lost focus and promptly stepped down after a few series. Moreover, Azhar enjoyed most of his success in India. Ganguly gave a new turn to the Indian cricket when team India started tasting success outside the subcontinent. I'll say that Dhoni has gone a step further than these two captains. He has excelled both as a batsman and a keeper during his captaincy. He's known to pull India out of precarious situations and bring them back into the match. Also, he knows his limitations as a batsman and a sportsman very well. Though many people criticized his skipping of Sri Lanka series (which I also do to some extent), he returned to the India team fully rejuvenated and lead India to a great ODI series win in Sri Lanka.
One great thing is I noticed is the contribution of Sachin Tendulkar during his tenure. MS has utilized the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina and Yuvi so well that the master blaster is relieved of all the undue pressure and can play his natural game. Its true that Dhoni owes his success to the great form of these batsman and also, the credit goes to the bowling department- Zaheer, Ishant and Bhajji to name a few.Coach Gary and the supporting staff also needs a special mention. The way MS has handled Ishant and Zaheer needs to be appreciated. Bhajji recently mentioned that everyone feels secure in the team and owed his success to the captain and the coach. Sehwag stated that MS is a better captain than Dada.
Right now, team India is rejoicing after their first series victory in New Zealand in 30 years. Very soon these guys will be gearing up for the IPL (should be renamed SAPL- after it was shifted to South Africa), where Dhoni will be aspiring to lift the title for Chennai team, and then the T20 World Cup in June. Go team India. Bring back the trophy this time too.
Though there is a long way to go for him,but he's definitely treading on a right path. Topping the ICC cricket rankings as a team should be definitely on MSD's priority list right now. It's very difficult to render performances as consistent as Australia . And for that, one needs a strong and a skillful captain which MSD is. But he needs to keep the momentum going. His opponents might believe that he's riding on his luck, but he keeps on proving them wrong with consistent performances.
MSD has definitely brought lot of cheers to the cricket fans ,all over the globe and I hope that he keeps adding to his list of achievements, match after match,series after series. Good luck MSD and to team India !!!
