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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  M.S. Dhoni: A matter of complete confidence
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M.S. Dhoni: A matter of complete confidence

Dhoni's self-belief not only makes him cricket's best finisher in the limited-overs format, but also feeds his success as the leader of the team

Dhoni (left) celebrates with Ishant Sharma after India beat Sri Lanka in the tri-series final. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFPPremium
Dhoni (left) celebrates with Ishant Sharma after India beat Sri Lanka in the tri-series final. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP

OTHERS :

He (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) reminds me a lot of both Ricky (Ponting) and Steve (Waugh). They have similar personalities, strong personalities. They love the team and the camaraderie of the team. For me, he has all the ingredients (to be successful)...," Matthew Hayden had said in May 2009.

One is reminded of the prophecy of the former Australian opener after Dhoni helped India beat Sri Lanka in the final of the tri-nation series in West Indies on 11 July, scoring the 15 runs required in the last over. It was a typical show of confidence, bordering on arrogance, by Dhoni, the batsman, and Dhoni, the captain.

He is the only player in cricket whose team has achieved the No.1 ranking in Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs), apart from winning all three major ICC trophies (Twenty20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy). Neither Waugh nor Ponting (both hugely successful modern Australian captains) have such a CV.

Rohit Sharma. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP
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Rohit Sharma. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP

“The great Sachin Tendulkar has paid him the ultimate compliment by saying that he is the best captain he has played under. I don’t know whether he really gets tense in a crunch situation, but certainly he doesn’t show it. It’s a remarkable quality to be always calm," says Australian Adam Gilchrist.

Gilchrist is not the lone member of the Dhoni fan club. Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris, who has shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is impressed with his popular man-management skills, particularly in a set-up where people from diverse cultures and backgrounds come together.

“He is like my former captain Stephen Fleming. They don’t yell at their players to convey a message. Both are articulate and calm and it rubs off on their players," says Styris.

Dhoni’s confidence extends beyond his own batting—like putting faith in a rookie like Joginder Sharma (giving him the last over in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup final) or showing unwavering patience with players like Ishant Sharma (like in the Champions Trophy final) or Rohit Sharma (he kept backing him in ODIs despite moderate results; Sharma has scored five 50s in his last 12 matches). What Dhoni’s supporters would call his instincts, critics believe is luck.

“He reminds me of my great captain Imran Khan," said Mushtaq Ahmed, former Pakistan leg-spinner and currently the spin bowling coach of England, just before last month’s Champions Trophy in England. “Both have staggering self-belief and they have such faith in their players, it is difficult to comprehend it from outside. I will give you the example of Mansoor Akhtar, who played (19 Tests) because Imran believed in his ability. Once they back a player, they back him all the way."

Players who have known him for several years say that even in his formative years, Dhoni was never short of self-belief. “During India A’s tour of Kenya in 2004," remembers former India opener Aakash Chopra, “I suggested that he should perhaps cut his long hair. This doesn’t work in Indian cricket, I argued. He told me in his inimitable style that it might become the style statement of the country. And actually it did!"

Dhoni’s confidence extends beyond his own batting—like putting faith in a rookie or showing unwavering patience with players

“I wondered why he was helping Karthik and he stumped me by saying that ‘I just love bowling. If you also want some practice, I would bowl for you as well. As far as playing for India is concerned, no one would stop me if I am good enough’," says Chopra, who saw his former teammate lifting trophies in England and West Indies from the commentary box.

With Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni is one of India’s greatest match winners in this 50-overs format. If Tendulkar’s ODI career batting average is 44.83, the figure jumps 56.63 in matches that India have won. Ganguly (55.06 from 41.02) and Singh (50.27 from 36.98) follow a similar path in arithmetic progression. In Dhoni’s case, the respective jump is 73.80 runs per innings in matches won from a career average of 51.45. Retired Australian middle-order batsman Michael Bevan, considered the game’s finest finisher, is a good comparison. In matches where Bevan remained unbeaten (67) and Australia won, he scored at an average of 56.5. Dhoni has scored at an average of 100.05 when he has been unbeaten (57) and India have won the match.

“Dhoni’s coolness in crunch situations comes from the basic awareness of his skill, power and enormous confidence of hitting sixes at will. The ability to assess the situation and not to be too aggressive or too defensive has made him such a great finisher," says Laxman.

Despite his achievements in limited-overs matches, Dhoni’s next and immediate challenge is to prove himself in Test cricket, as a batsman and captain, in South Africa later this year. That renowned self-belief would come in useful now.

IBN7’s deputy sports editor Vimal Kumar is also the author of Sachin: Cricketer of the Century.

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Published: 17 Jul 2013, 07:48 PM IST
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