Sachin Tendulkar suggested MS Dhoni’s name as Team India’s captain: Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar, the former chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), stated that it was Sachin Tendulkar, who brought MS Dhoni’s name into the fray for national captaincy. Dhoni made his international debut in December 2004, but he donned the captain’s hat for the first time in the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa where the Men in Blue became the champions.

Pawar, who served as the BCCI president from 2005 to 2008, mentioned that Rahul Dravid showed his reluctance to lead Team India during the 2007 tour of England. Thereafter, Pawar requested Sachin, who also turned down the offer. However, Tendulkar didn’t forget to mention Dhoni’s name.

Pawar turns back the clock to MS Dhoni’s entry into the captaincy

“I remember India had gone to England in 2007. At that time, Rahul Dravid was the captain. I was there in England then, and Dravid came to meet me. He told me how he no longer wanted to lead India. He told me how the captaincy was affecting his batting.

“He told me that he should be relieved from the captaincy. I then asked Sachin Tendulkar to lead the side, but he refused the role,” Pawar was quoted as saying in Sportskeeda.

“I told Sachin that if both of you and Dravid do not want to lead the side, how will we go about things? Then Sachin told me that we have one more player in the country who could lead the side, and his name is none other than MS Dhoni. After that, we gave the leadership to Dhoni,” he added.

The decision to make Dhoni the skipper changed the fortunes of Indian cricket after the team crashed out of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. From 2007 to 2013, Dhoni helped India win the T20 World Cup, the 50-overs World Cup, and the Champions Trophy.

He gave up Test captaincy in December 2014 and gave up captaincy from all formats in the year 2017. Back in August 2020, the veteran retired from international cricket, having last played in the 2019 World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester.