5 Indian captains of the 21st century and their contributions to Indian cricket

#4 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni with 2011 ICC World Cup Trophy

After India’s exit from the 2007 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar suggested MS Dhoni’s name to the selectors to be appointed as the skipper of the team. MS Dhoni captained the team in the inaugural 2007 World T20 Cup with a bunch of youngsters and under his shrewd captaincy, India won the World Cup. This was the beginning of the Dhoni era.

We often measure the success of the captain by measuring the growth of players under a captain. It was under Dhoni’s captaincy that the rise of players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, R Jadeja and countless players happened.

It was Dhoni’s decision to make a struggling Rohit Sharma open the batting that gave him a new lease of life. He always backed his youngsters even in come what may not situations. He always stressed the importance of fielding and it was under his tenure that India managed to become a formidable fielding unit.

Dhoni put an end to the senior-junior culture in the Indian dressing room. He was credited for effective man management for handling seniors like Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Kumble, Ganguly, Sehwag etc and inducting fresh blood in the form of youngsters in the team and backing them to perform to their full potential.

He ensured a successful transition of the team that witnessed retirements of the seniors and young players making their debut under his captaincy. Dhoni brought the best out of every player.

With his ice-cool attitude and ability to remain calm under pressure, Dhoni finished countless games for India with the bat. The best example of this will be the six at Wankhede stadium in the 2011 World Cup Final.

Dhoni has always played the game in its true spirits and is well remembered for his sportsmanship. Recalling Ian Bell after he was controversially run out showed the sportsman spirit of the Captain Cool.

He is India’s best captain by a county mile. He had a golden run as the skipper of the team that saw India topping the Test rankings under his leadership. India was always a dominating side at home under his tenure.

He led India to victory in 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy- the only skipper to taste victories at all the three events. Dhoni is India’s most successful Indian Test captain with a record of 27 test wins.

Indian cricket will rarely get to witness another captain like MS Dhoni.