subject: Flamboyant, yet composed, this is DHONI for you! [print this page] Flamboyant, yet composed, this is DHONI for you!
The silence quite defines the star Indian captain. Ever since his promotion as captain of the Indian team, this man has only led India to new heights. "Captain cool" as he is called by many, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has redefined the style of captaining a cricket team. A combination of cool attitude with sincerity to the core has defined his rise in the Indian team.Great captains like Steve Waugh, Stephen Fleming all admire his style. The most interesting thing about his functioning is to lead from the front. It has been seen that whenever India has needed him, he has always been there. Just the aura that permeates into the fielders and bowlers from Dhoni has a calming influence on them. No prizes for guessing that he is the world no.1 in tests in batting. Clinging to the top for almost a year is no less a job. Recently India won the tri-series in Sri-Lanka after 15 years. This has now removed the perrenial tag of chokers. After all Indians aren't know for their abroad triumphs. The slide started with Azharuddin. Under him, success abroad was at jeopardy at all times. This somewhat changed with Saurav Ganguly. This man was the one who brought back India to the right track. Ganguly led India to victory in a number of tests in West Indies, Australia, England. And, this trend has been effectively carried on by Dhoni. After a long time India won a test series in Australia.
But for a country with a population of a billion people anything is not enough. Critics are there for everyone and in case of Dhoni, there is no exception. There have been accusations of him batting for averages rather than the team. In the 2009 Twenty-twenty world cup, he could not hit the ball well. India's early exit from the world cup didn't help his cause either. But, as expected, he has maintained his ground well up till now.
But the real test will be the 2011 world cup. Popular opinion is that if he pulls off this feat, then he will surely be regarded as the best ever Indian captain of all times.
