Sachin Tendulkar reveals how he spotted MS Dhoni’s captaincy potential

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, one of cricket’s all-time great captains, brought India incredible joy by leading his side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. The wicketkeeper-batsman’s decision to hand Joginder Sharma the final over against Pakistan proved to be a masterstroke as India became the inaugural champions in cricket’s newest format. With the seniors opting out of the tournament, Dhoni took over the captaincy of the national T20 team. It was Sachin Tendulkar who had spotted the captaincy potential in the Jharkhand cricketer and informed BCCI.

Speaking to PTI, Tendulkar revealed the story. “I wouldn’t get into details how it happened but yes I did say when I was asked (by the senior BCCI people) as to what do I think. I had mentioned that I won’t be going to SA as I was carrying a few injuries… But back then, I used to stand in the slip cordon and I used to interact with MS and understand what he was thinking, the field setting and I would discuss all those aspects. I observed his match reading and I came to the conclusion that he had a good cricketing brain so I suggested to the board that this is what I feel. MS should be the next one to take charge,” the Indian legend said.

Impressed with Dhoni’s leadership in the T20 World Cup, he was also appointed as the ODI captain against Pakistan in a home series. After Anil Kumble’s retirement from Test cricket, Dhoni took over the national captaincy in all three formats. Under his leadership, India went on to become the top-ranked side in Test cricket and later created history by winning the 2011 World Cup at home.

Captaining India in a total of 332 international matches, Dhoni holds the world-record for leading a side most times in international cricket. He led India in 200 ODIs, 72 T20Is, and 60 Tests. He also has the record for second-most wins in limited-overs international games – 151 – behind Australia’s Ricky Ponting (172 wins).