Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the greatest captains to have made his mark in the cricketing fraternity. The Jharkhand-born cricketer made his debut in international cricket in 2004, and in a short span, became a renowned name. Dhoni led India in the T20 2007 World Cup after big names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, and went on to win the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa.
Recently, the former India great Dilip Vengsarkar opened up on the selection of Dhoni as white-ball cricket. Vengsarkar, who was the chief selector when Dravid resigned, Dhoni’s body language, and communication skills with other players worked in his favour.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Vengsarkar said, “Apart from being an automatic choice in the team, you look at the player’s cricketing acumen, body language, ability to lead from the front and man management skills. We saw Dhoni's approach to the game, body language, how he spoke to others; we got positive feedback."
Notably, when Dravid resigned, the BCCI urged Sachin Tendulkar to take up the Indian captaincy, but he rejected and took Dhoni’s name. Dhoni’s skills, management, body language and good feedback were the factors that did the trick for him and hence he took over India’s captaincy in all formats by 2008 when he became India’s Test team captain.
The Jharkhand-born cricketer announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020. However, he still leads the Chennai-based franchise, Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. His side won the fifth edition of the IPL as they took down Gujarat Titans in the final summit of 2023’s IPL season.
