'MS Dhoni's calling card was composure under pressure' - VVS Laxman heaps praise on the former skipper's 'captaincy saga'

At a time when the whole world is battling against COVID-19 pandemic, many current and former cricketers have been quite active on social media. Former India stalwart VVS Laxman has also notched up his activity on Twitter these days as he has been paying rich tributes to some of his former colleagues.

Laxman has been mentioning attributes of his colleagues, along with instances which he shared with them on and off the field. Many India legends including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have been hailed by Laxman so far.

The newest entrant in Laxman’s list was former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Laxman lauded Dhoni’s composure on the field, especially under pressure. Dhoni, who is regarded as one of the most successful Indian skippers, flagged off his captaincy sage by lifting the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. The world witnessed the birth of an exemplary leader as Dhoni later etched many records to his name during the course of his captaincy stint.

Laxman wrote, “Blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not a matter of life and death, @msdhoni’s calling card was composure, especially under pressure. The 2007 World T20 triumph catalysed the stirring captaincy saga of a leader who talked through his deeds.”

Blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not a matter of life and death, @msdhoni’s calling card was composure, especially under pressure. The 2007 World T20 triumph catalysed the stirring captaincy saga of a leader who talked through his deeds. pic.twitter.com/N2LukWwD3f

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) June 9, 2020

MS Dhoni was set to return back to the field through IPL 2020

Laxman, in his autobiography, had also mentioned how Dhoni, the newly-appointed Test skipper, drove the team bus back to the hotel after India’s 2-0 Test series win against Australia in 2008. The Hyderabad-born cricketer had also heaped praise on Dhoni’s playful and grounded nature in his book.

Laxman had written in his autobiography, “One of my abiding memories is of MS (Dhoni) driving the team bus to the hotel in Nagpur, during my 100th Test. I couldn’t believe my eyes – the captain of the team driving us back from the ground! It was his first Test in charge after Anil’s (Kumble) retirement, and he didn’t seem to have a care in the world. But he was like that, playful and grounded. MS never lost the joy, the playfulness. I have never met anyone quite like him.”

After staying away from the sport for almost a year now, Dhoni was to be seen in action in IPL 2020. However, due to the indefinite postponement of the tournament, Dhoni’s return to the field is still in jeopardy.