Batting great Sachin Tendulkar revealed why he recommended Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s name as Team India captain in 2007. Dhoni took over the limited-overs captaincy from Rahul Dravid in 2007 but he was not the first choice of the selectors. Tendulkar was asked to become the captain of the side once again but the Master Blaster declined the offer and asked the selectors to consider Dhoni for the role.
The wicketkeeper batter scripted history as captain in the 2007 T20 World Cup as he led the young Indian side to title victory in the inaugural edition. He went on to become one of the most successful captains in world cricket. He is the only captain to win three ICC tournaments – T20 World Cup (in 2007, ODI World Cup (in 2011) and the Champions Trophy (in 2013).
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Tendulkar said that he used to have conversations with Dhoni while fielding at first slip and got some balanced and calm feedback from him.
“This was in England when I was offered captaincy. I said we have a very good leader in the team who was still a junior, and he is someone you should look at closely. I have had a lot of conversations with him, more so on the field where I would be fielding at first slip and asked him, what do you think? Though Rahul was the captain but I would ask him and the feedback I received was very balanced, calm, yet very much matured,” Tendulkar said in an event organized by Infosys.
Dhoni had a glorious time as Team India captain where he led them to memorable victories but the most special one was the 2011 ODI World Cup triumph.
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Tendulkar also talked about the good qualities he saw in Dhoni which made him a great captain.
“Good captaincy is about being a step ahead of opposition. If one is smart enough to do that, like we say, josh se nahi, hosh se khelo (play sensibly). It doesn’t happen instantly, you won’t get 10 wickets in 10 balls. You have to plan it. At the end of the day, the scoreboard matters. And I saw those qualities in him. Hence, I recommended his name,” the former India batter further said.
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