MS Dhoni is a leader in true sense: Ashish Nehra

MS Dhoni, the captain, came to the fore during the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20 in 2007 and India winning it was the best thing to happen to their cricket. He was soon named the leader of the pack in all the formats and the face of the Indian cricket completely changed. The Men in Blue went on triumph in 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy under him which is the reason, Ashish Nehra has termed him as a true leader.

Team India also reached the number 1 position in Test cricket for the first time ever in 2009 under his leadership and his contribution as a wicketkeeper-batsman is immense. Dhoni was handling three jobs perfectly during his captaincy tenure and he never complained. Yes, there were tough days but he fought bravely with them and came out on top when it mattered the most.

Anyone can do captaincy but…

Ashish Nehra, in his column for Outlook Magazine, has showered praises on MS Dhoni’s captaincy skills and went on to say that he was a true leader. He also shed light on how the veteran took over the challenge of the captaincy after Anil Kumble retired and filled in the big shoes.

“Anyone can do captaincy, but Dhoni is a true leader. He proved that in 2007, by leading the team to victory in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. That kind of success can sway others, not him. Remember, he was comple­tely new to captaincy—he was handed the reins when he was nowhere in the picture. And there were big shoes to fill in: Rahul Dravid was captain on India’s previous tour to England,” he wrote.

Moreover, Nehra also pointed out the way Dhoni didn’t change his approach to the game after the debacle in England and Australia in the longest format of the game after winning the World Cup in the same year. He also went on to further state that him taking over the captaincy was a turning point in Indian cricket.

“Dhoni as skipper was a huge turning point for Indian cricket as well. He knew how to handle pressure, in his own way. When ­India lost a back-to-back Test series to England, 0-4, and to Australia by the same margin in 2011, after winning the World Cup at home, he didn’t buckle or change as a person,” the former Indian pacer added.

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