The real Dhoni

First of all Congratulations to all reading my blog for the Indian world cup victory.I can imagine the euphoria in India even though i am not in the country. Many would have lost hope of the victory at the start of the Indian batting. But  i was hopeful for some contribution from the Youngistan.I somehow had the belief in Dhoni and his delivery capabilities.

Now let me put my opinion about Dhoni in perspective. I do not follow cricket very closely apart from hearing the ubiquitous banter from friends and family.But being the stubborn soul that i am i never was a fan of Dhoni. I am a Sachin tendulkar fan as i like the best things in life. I always liked the technical capabilities of a player.He should be good in either batting,bowling or fielding. But here was one player i could not categorize as the best in anything.

Still the World Cup victory of India is rightly seen as Dhoni's brain child.The media is praising him as the best CEO in India.Even the god of cricket gave him the most honourable title- best captain he has ever played under. This should be the biggest asset of Dhoni now. But how did this happen to a person i was not a fan of? I dwelt on this thought and then started analyzing his persona. There must be something in him that he has been able to do the unthinkable for India.

All will agree that technically he is not the best. But he is not merely a player in the team. He is the captain of the team.He has shattered the myth that a captain should be good in something. More than a captain he is the leader of the Indian team.He has somehow been able to bring out the best in every player and enabled them to work as a team. He has given each player space to develop and at the same time made them in to a team that works together. If one fails others should be ready to balance things out.This was his mandate.

In his career as captain spanning almost 5 years , i remember since the day 1, one quality of his has stood out- his decisiveness.In all pre-match conferences he spelled out team strategies as his own decisions and stood by them. His confident body language has instilled confidence in youngsters. He has given chance to many youngsters. I remember early on he rested many senior players after the 2007 world cup debacle in preparation for this 2011 cup.That was his vision.And it has paid off handsomely.

This nature of his to do experiments and give chance to the best impartially has earned him a respect that he is rightly considered as the undisputed leader even by Sachin. This is a testimony to his stature otherwise a post which was a tussle between all senior players.But now i guess selectors never need to look beyond Dhoni.

Even on field he is always Mr cool.That is the biggest asset which generally comes with age and experience .But he somehow has this valuable quality since day 1. One never sees him lost or biting nails or looking to the sky for answers. On field he is always busy talking strategies to players, shouting fielding positions and working out the best possible way to finish the match. He looks like a person in command.Though his decisions are always debatable but nevertheless they work for the team.And that's what makes the difference.

The world cup final was not only a game of technical capabilities but also of mental and phsychological strength. Its like any other team effort in the world.And no captain in the world knows this better than our MSD.