If You Don’t Have Good Resources, Doesn’t Matter Whether The Captain Is Waugh or Ponting: MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows a thing or two about captaincy. The most decorated skipper in the history of Indian cricket, Dhoni captained India in 331 matches, which is the most by any player across formats and tasted unprecedented success.
The Ranchi-born star, who gave up limited-overs captaincy last year, is still the only captain to win all three major ICC limited-over tournaments. Under the leadership of Dhoni, India won the 2007 World T20, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He is also the first Indian skipper to lead the team to the pinnacle of Test cricket.
The legendary skipper recently opened up on captaincy during an event and spoke on how he captaincy always came naturally to him, why wicketkeepers thrive as captains and why a captain is as good as his team. Dhoni, who had stepped down as Test captain in 2014, resigned as limited-overs skipper in January last year.
But despite giving up the responsibility, the 36-year old has been seen heavily involved in all the decision makings even on the field. From changing fielders, bowlers to DRS calls, MSD has been seen advising Kohli on almost all the matters. Well, Dhoni cleared the air on why he remains so involved in the game.
“I was never a captain before I became the captain of India. So I don’t think it is a difficult job. Secondly, the wicketkeeper is always considered the vice-captain of a team. He is somebody who is in the position to watch the game very closely. He understands the pace of the wicket, how the bowler is bowling, how the batsman is batting,” Dhoni said.
The wicketkeeper-batsman further spoke on why wicketkeepers have tasted immense success as captains.
“Before a few of us – the wicketkeepers – started captaining sides, there was talk about why burden keepers with more responsibility. But stats have proved wicketkeepers have always been good captains. Maybe because they are so close to the game, they have very good analysis of the game,” said Dhoni.
MS Dhoni will don the captain’s hat once again for Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL.
Dhoni might have tasted huge success as skipper, but the World Cup-winning star made it clear that a captain can do well only if he has good resources.
Citing the examples of some of the most successful captains in the history of the game, Dhoni said:
“But again, we need to have a good team. If the resources are not good, it doesn’t matter who the captain is, whether it’s Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Clive Lloyd or any other great captains.”
Here is the news feed:
Die-hard fan of Yuvraj Singh Abhishek Sharma wants to finish things off in style like MS
