4 captaincy decisions taken by MS Dhoni which helped change Indian cricket
The year 2007 saw MS Dhoni take up the leadership of the the Indian team for the first time. After the 2007 World Cup debacle, the senior players - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - decided to skip the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa, paving the way for Dhoni's ascent.
With his sharp cricketing brain and fresh approach, the wicketkeeper-batsman led a young Indian team to triumph in the World T20. That was the start of a long and glorious career at the helm.
Dhoni captained the Indian Test team from 2008 to 2014 and the limited overs side from 2007 to 2016. He is the only captain to win the T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup and Champions Trophy while also leading his team to the number one position in Test cricket.
During Dhoni's tenure as Indian captain, there were certain decisions he took which changed Indian cricket for good. Here is a look at four such decisions.
#1 Promoting himself in the 2011 World Cup final
Sri Lanka had set India a target of 275 in the final of the 2011 World Cup. In the previous nine World Cups, no team had chased such a big target.
India lost three wickets for 114 runs by the 22nd over of the run chase. With his team in serious trouble, Dhoni decided to pick up the gauntlet and lead from the front.
He was not in the best touch with the bat in the 2011 World Cup, and his decision to promote himself ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh raised several eyebrows. But the move paid dividends and the Indian skipper scored an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls which included 8 boundaries and 2 sixes.
Dhoni was extremely calm under pressure and guided India to a memorable win, helping them lift the World Cup after 28 years.
#2 Joginder Sharma's last over heroics in the 2007 World T20 final
India had set Pakistan a target of 158 in the final of the 2007 World T20. Pakistan required 13 runs to win off the final over, and defying all convention, Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder Sharma.
But Sharma managed to defend the target, picking up the wicket of Misbah-Ul-Haq in the process. India won the final by five runs, and Sharma was celebrated as the unlikely hero.
Dhoni's decision to trust the inexperienced Sharma was a masterstroke, and helped India win the first edition of the World T20.
#3 Promoting Rohit Sharma as on opener in ODI cricket
Rohit Sharma was struggling to score runs in the middle order in ODI cricket. Dhoni then promoted him to the top of the order, and since then Rohit has been a different player.
In 138 innings as an opener in ODIs, Rohit has scored 7148 runs at a staggering average of 58.11 - with 31 half centuries and 27 centuries. He has scored three double hundreds in his ODI career, and is the only cricketer to achieve that feat.
Rohit's record as an opener is considerably more impressive than his record at any other position. He is widely regarded as the best limited overs opener in today's times, and Dhoni's decision to promote him played a big part in that.
#4 Backing a core group of players
When Dhoni started to lead Team India, the seniors like Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar were in the twilight of their career. Many youngsters made their way into the Indian team under the captaincy of Dhoni, and the skipper gave them his complete support.
To begin with he supported Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina, despite the fact that they didn't perform to their potential in the early days. But Dhoni's backing paid off as the trio went on to play a vital role in many Indian victories.
Vijay reinvented himself as an opener in Test cricket and Raina was a crucial part of the Indian middle order for a considerable period of time. Jadeja meanwhile is now an indispensable part of the Indian team in all the three formats.
Another player who had the backing of Dhoni is Ishant Sharma, who at present is the leader of the Indian pace attack.