Sachin Tendulkar reveals why he recommended MS Dhoni as captain in 2007

There isn’t a doubt that MS Dhoni has proven himself as one of the greatest captains of the game. With several records to his name, MS Dhoni is the only captain in the history of cricket who has lifted three major ICC trophies in cricket. Now, after so many years, Sachin Tendulkar has revealed the reason behind recommending MS Dhoni as captain.

Why did Sachin Tendulkar recommend MS Dhoni as captain in 2007?


Before that, Dhoni never captained the Indian cricket team at any level. At the time of the series with England in 2007, Sachin Tendulkar was offered the role of captaincy. And this was the third time he was offered to lead the team, but he pulled out, eventually recommending Dhoni’s name. He revealed that at that time he said to the board that they have a very good player in the team, who, though his junior, is someone we should seriously look at.

Sachin further said that he had many conversations with Dhoni in the field, when he fielded close to him at first slip. Rahul Dravid was then the captain. He used to ask Dhoni about certain things and found his reply very calm, balanced, and mature.

He said that good captainship is about being ahead of the opposite team. One should be smart enough to execute that; like there is a saying that ‘josh se nahi, hosh se khelo’ means play sensibly. Things cannot happen instantly without planning. You cannot get 10 wickets in 10 balls. All matters is the scoreboard. And Sachin saw those leadership qualities in him; therefore, he recommended Dhoni’s name as captain.

FAQs

1. Which ICC trophies India won under the leadership of MS Dhoni?

Ans. Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, India won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the Champions Trophy in 2013.

2. Who was replaced by Dhoni as the test captain of the Indian cricket team in 2008?

Ans. MS Dhoni replaced Anil Kumble in 2008 as the test captain of the Indian cricket team.