MS Dhoni is the best captain India has seen: Rohit Sharma

Cricket is a mental game. And, the recently concluded five-match series between New Zealand and India testified that to the hilt when the Kiwis, despite being in winnable positions in all the past three games were not able to keep their calm and finish the proceedings. Being mentally calm in a pressure situation is the key to success for champion cricketers and champion teams.

And, if you think about the most mentally calm cricketer on the field, it has got to be former Indian captain, MS Dhoni. Dhoni was an epitome of calmness. The more intense the situation, the more he remained calm, whether it was with the bat or as a captain. And, this is one of the major reasons why Dhoni has so many World titles as captain and finishes off many games, the way he did with his bat during his prime.

His calmness has helped MS Dhoni to make such good decisions: Rohit Sharma

Indian opener Rohit Sharma recently appeared on a chat show ‘Curly Tales’ where the swashbuckling batsman was asked about his role model on being calm on the field. And, Sharma, who made his debut under MS Dhoni during the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and played a majority of his career under him, had no qualms in saying that Dhoni is the calmest cricketer he has seen on the field.

Rohit also reckoned the reason behind him captaining India to three ICC trophies and his franchise Chennai Super Kings to IPL titles was his [Dhoni] calmness.

“Whole India knows MS Dhoni is the one who has been like that. It has helped him to make such good decisions on the field and now you see he is the most successful Indian captain, having all three ICC Trophies with him and many IPL titles as well. He is the best captain India has seen and there is a reason behind it and that reason is him being calm and composed under pressure situation.” Rohit Sharma said in the video.

One of the biggest attributes of Dhoni during his captaincy days was how he used to handle his younger, inexperienced bowlers. Dhoni would go to them, put an arm around their shoulder and advise them what to do, and for Sharma, this feature of MS motivated a lot of youngsters to do well for their country.

“I have seen him handle a lot of younger bowlers when they get under pressure, he goes around and puts his arm around their neck and talks to them what he needs to do and what not. You know when a younger player is being treated like that by the senior member of a team, you obviously feel confident and want to deliver for the team,” Sharma added.

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