The evolution of Indian Cricket under MS Dhoni
- Anirudha R Nijagal
“In the air, Sreeshanth takes it. India win” – The famous lines by Ravi Shastri on air were the initial days of captaincy of one of the greatest leaders in sport.
It was 2007. It was the initial days of the T20 format. It was all confirmed that the senior cricketers of the Indian team weren’t taking part in the T20 World Cup 2007. A wicketkeeper batsman from Ranchi was named the man to lead India in the T20 World Cup. Very few knew that it was the beginning of purple patch in the Indian Cricket history.
With all youngsters in the team, away from the limelight of expectations, team India pulled off something Incredible! India emerged victorious in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. It was the time for the cricketing world to stand up and take notice of the emergence of a new captain who was capable of winning tournaments with his irreplaceable tactics.
Captaincy comes with a lot of responsibilities. It was his robust shoulders that were capable of handling the pressure and responsibilities. It was in 2008 when Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the full-time captain in all formats with expectations of crores of Indians for the ultimate glory in the ICC Tournaments. MS Dhoni took control and mastered the transition phase in the side when the seniors were retiring and the stepping in of youngsters required guidance. He guided the youngsters so much so that his mind was already thinking about the World Cup that was coming up in 2011. MS was a calm headed operator. His calmness was induced in the dressing room in his days and his influence on youngsters started becoming evident. Kids in India were inspired by the man and he was the reason many kids in India took up Cricket as their pathway for their Bread and Butter.
MS led India finely in 2009 and 2010. The clutches switched to ODIs. Preparation for the 2011 World Cup was on the cards and all the eyes were on the main man – The Skipper. 2 amazing successful seasons for the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings came under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. The 2 consecutive victories of the franchise under him skyrocketed the expectations of Indians in the 2011 World Cup. His approach towards that World Cup proved his desperation to win big in front of the home crowd. He manifested the win and in anticipation, lead the team wonderfully well. His body language, bowling changes, field placements and clever changes in batting positions according to the situation made him stand apart as a captain of a cricket team. The cricketing world saw him dominate the opposition from behind the stumps. His expertise in bringing out the best in his players collaborated with the fortunes as Team India scripted an epic win in the Final of the World cup at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The crowd had the luxury of witnessing India’s biggest superstar Sachin Tendulkar emerging victorious in his final World Cup. The farewell given to him by the grateful Indian side remains one of the most legendary moments in the history of sport. MS Dhoni also added a cherry on top of the cake by finishing the match with a six when 4 runs were required of 11 balls. And, as always, Ravi Shastri casually voiced another gem as he called “Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years. The parties start in the dressing room and it’s an Indian captain who’s been absolutely magnificent in the night of the Final”.
Respect for Dhoni among Indian households was elevated as he successfully became the successor to the legendary Kapil Dev. MS Dhoni did not look back after that. He was determined to develop the team and build the future leaders who would be capable of taking the team forward. Performances in bilateral series kept on improving as his mindset to win games for the country was induced in the players that played under him. Made a masterful move of promoting a talented batsman named Rohit Sharma to open the innings in the limited over formats which turned out to be a masterpiece as Rohit made the opening position his own and dominated the teams with his intent filled starts. Dhoni nurtured the growth of future greats of Indian Cricket, like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to name a few. He took care of his players to ensure they were always prepared to contribute to the nation whenever it mattered most. India made it happen again as they achieved the ultimate glory in another ICC tournament in 2013 – The Champions Trophy in England. With this victory MS Dhoni had won everything in Cricket. He became the king of ICC tournaments. The legendary captain then started becoming popular globally as one of the finest leaders in sport. A famous quote looked like it was written for him which stated “Anybody can walk in as a captain, but only a few can walk out as a Leader”. We saw him pass on the baton of captaincy in Tests in 2014 which was also beginning of something unimaginably magnificent in the history of Indian Cricket, as Virat Kohli ended up being the most successful Indian Test captain.
MS Dhoni made Virat Kohli his deputy in the limited over formats and continued bringing laurels to the side by dominating teams. His cool headed-ness combined with the Aggression of Virat Kohli became the core strength of Indian cricket post 2014 till 2019. It was like Fire and Ice in the same side attacking the opposition fiercely. Dhoni quit the captaincy for One-Day Internationals and T20 formats in January 2017 and handed over reign to Virat Kohli. But before 2017, he made sure the team was ready to tackle any challenges that could come their way. Indian Cricket under MS Dhoni certainly experienced evolution. He took Indian cricket team from strength to strength. His uniqueness in field placements to make the fall of wickets happen was his x-factor. He rotated his bowlers like a champion and always went with his instincts to make the correct decision. In one of the matches in T20 World Cup 2016 against Bangladesh, the situation was all stacked up such that India had to defend 11 runs in the final over. Dhoni believed in the youngster Hardik Pandya and achieved the task which has been one of the great moves by him during his tenure. His presence of mind came to the limelight when he chose to run to the stumps to run the Bangladesh player out when 2 runs were required off the final ball.
Dhoni’s batting talent was so huge that he was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket during his initial days. His batsmanship is talked about less, as his captaincy is more frequently discussed. But he was a dashing batter who marched up the ranks. He was at one point of time the top rank holder for the ICC Batting ranking in ODIs.
His wicketkeeping skills made rounds among the cricket pundits. His swift stumpings, quick run outs, unique methods of hitting stumps from far away, flexibility to take tough catches and the fitness to carry himself for long hours, along with the ability to lead the team with his brain functioning at over 100% every second on the field.
MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI was truly one of the finest cricket players to have represented India. The laurels he brought to the country will be remembered till the existence of Human Race.
