MSD : Man with the Midas touch.

[koksmayu]

An admirer of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy, former Australian pacer Andy Bichel says India needed a leader like him for a very long time as he has the ability to get consistent performances from his teammates. Bichel worked with Dhoni during his stint as a bowling coach with Chennai Super Kings and became an admirer of his man-management skills. "He's (Dhoni) the kind of captain who leads from the front. I think he's the captain which Indian cricket needed for a long time. And now that they've got the guidance and skill, they are producing good performances week in and week out," he told PTI in an interview. "My feel about captaincy is that it is about the guys that are underneath you and whether they can do their roles. I see nearly everyone in the Indian team at the moment performing, which makes the captain's job very, very easy," said Bichel, who is currently coaching the Papua New Guinea national team. Bichel feels the kind of cricket the Indian team is playing currently, it deserves to rule the world. "The Indian cricket team is doing a lot of things right at the moment and it is no surprise that they are close to number one in all three forms (of the game)," he said. The 40-year-old Queenslander also feels that the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has played a significant role in the team's present success. "The Indian cricket officials have exposed the game to country areas as well which has given them a catchment of more players which is a great thing for Indian cricket at the moment," said Bichel. "You look at (Ishant) Sharma. He has been in and out and now he is bowling in the West Indies and he is bowling quick and dominating the West Indies team at the moment." Bichel, who took 58 wickets in 19 Tests and 78 scalps in 67 ODIs, was of the view that world cricket currently lacks quality batsmen due to the advent of Twenty20 version. "I think in recent times, there has been a big influence on batting and bowling. Twenty20 has changed the psyche of the game," he said. "If you go back 20 years, there was a mentality where people used to ask 'do you bat or do you bowl?' But that has changed very quickly in a short space of time. Players are now trying to have a bite of both cherries, as well as fielding. "Now if you are good in all of those areas, you are of more value to a Twenty20 side and that's what's dominating cricket in recent times," he added. The ICC's decision to restrict the number of teams to 10 from the 2019 World Cup also did not go down well with Bichel. "I'm not too sure if it's a step in the right direction. "I think there should be a qualifying stage that teams go through. I think for the Twenty20, I really like how they have gone about it. They've made it really big and it gives teams like us something to strive for. If you want to improve, you need opportunities to play at higher standard," Bichel said. "With 50-over cricket, I think the issue is that the World Cup seems to take a long time to get over and it seems to keep getting longer and longer. "But some of those fringe teams have invested a lot of money in recent times to go forward and without an opportunity, where do they go?" Bichel, who had played a major role in Australia's 2003 World Cup triumph, questioned. Asked about the Papua New Guinea team, Bichel said the young associate nation is moving in the right direction and with more international exposure, they will only get better. "They are moving forward. Two years ago when I first came here, there were no facilities and when you look around today, they have facilities that they can improve (their performance) on," he said. "I think the taste they got at the last tournament against the UAE and Namibia, who have had a fair bit of international experience, has set a bit of a benchmark. "Those teams ranked about 15 to 18 are pretty even. So it gives us real insight into where we have to get to. I think these guys are ready for that. They have played a lot of cricket over the last 12 months and now the more they play and the better standard they play, they can only improve," he added.

[Sidhoni]

Dhoni :hail:

[Sidhoni]

MSD is always under control : Gambhir http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/index/viewarticle?article=%2Fmedia%2Freleases%2Fcontent%2F4e1ae766abeb4.html

Kolkata, July 11: Appearing on a recent television show with former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, batting star Gautam Gambhir spoke about MS Dhoni’s leadership and his own experience while captaining the Indian cricket team Appreciating Dhoni’s captaincy Gambhir said, “He is a real cool customer. It seems nothing can put him under pressure. Whatever the situation, he is always under control. The best thing about his captaincy is he backs the newcomers […] He makes sure that every player gets enough [of a] chance to prove himself. It’s very important. Much like Dada […] Most of the senior players in the current team started under Dada.” When asked to compare the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning side with the one that won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup he said, “Well, both are special in their own way. One can’t compare the two. It was the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup and winning it was a great achievement. And we all know how important the ODI World Cup win was. It had come after 28 years and we deserved it.” Gambhir, who missed out on a well deserved century in the ICC World Cup 2011 final, reminisced about his gritty innings. “The important thing is we won the Cup. But well, it would have been great to get the century. Actually, all through the innings I was concentrating on my batting, not the score. I was just trying to focus on each and every delivery. But Dhoni reminded me that I was nearing my century. For a fraction of a second, I started thinking about it. It was a bad shot,” he conceded. About his captaincy he said, “I led the national team in the series against New Zealand last year. I have also led the IPL sides - Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. Captaining the national side is a matter of huge honour and pride. Every cricketer in the country dreams [of leading] the national side. So I won’t compare anything with that. But surely, captaining Kolkata Knight Riders was also a great experience.”

[Sid]

Good to see Gauti acknowledging the T20 victory as well,that was the start .............:two_thumbs_up:

[Sidhoni]

MSD : Man with the Midas touch. http://www.tssonnet.com/stories/20110721501000400.html

Man with the Midas Touch A captain is only as good as his team and Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been blessed with a squad, especially in Tests, where there is smooth synthesis of seniors, who cast overwhelming shadows, and juniors, nursing the bravado and irreverence that define youth. But that does not take away the credit that is due to a man who emerged from Jharkhand and now leads a team with an astute head, writes K. C. Vijaya Kumar. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has defied conventions with a sense of remarkable rush like the manner in which he used to bat in his early days as a long-haired lad. A wicket-keeper who is safe with the gloves and a batsman who can bruise bowlers, Dhoni has now acquired the added sheen of being a skipper, who senses the pulse of a match and largely stays ahead. Recently in the West Indies, Dhoni emerged as the second most successful Indian captain in Tests with 15 victories from 26 matches. Dhoni has gone beyond past masters like Mohammad Azharuddin (14 victories) and Sunil Gavaskar and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who notched nine victories each. The Indian skipper is now behind only Sourav Ganguly (21 triumphs from 49 matches) and it is no mean achievement for a 30-year old man, who is now analysed for his successful leadership traits by management students. It would be simplistic to just say that Dhoni has the ‘Midas Touch' because that would mean paying veiled obeisance to intangible factors like luck and fate. Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and Dhoni has been blessed with a squad, especially in Tests, where there is smooth synthesis of seniors, who cast overwhelming shadows, and juniors, nursing the bravado and irreverence that define youth. But that does not take away the credit that is due to a man who emerged from Jharkhand and now leads a team with an astute head. A few months ago, at a private function in Bangalore, Dhoni said: “You see I grew up in a small town like Ranchi and I hardly got a chance to meet big cricketers.” It is indeed special that the same man now guides the team huddle ahead of a match in which the circle is made rich with the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, V. V. S. Laxman, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni has been blessed with team-mates who are driven by their loyalty to former coach Gary Kirsten's preamble — ‘be the best team in the world.' An Indian dressing room can at times be a medley of high-strung egos and regional chasms but that, thankfully, has become a fallacy that now stains only the past. Former skippers Tendulkar and Dravid have lent a helping hand to Dhoni. V. V. S. Laxman, who once stunned an interviewer by asking, “is it so difficult to be nice?”, has staged Houdini Acts in Mohali and other venues to bail out India. And men like Sehwag, Zaheer and Harbhajan have given their best. The man from Ranchi has created the right environment for all his key players to express themselves. Usually the man at the top, in most fields, suffers that peer-over-the-shoulder mannerism while the second-in-command snaps at his heels. Dhoni, however, seems to have no such fears. In 2008 when he took over as the Indian Test captain, he allowed Ganguly to lead for a while in Nagpur. It was the former skipper's last Test and Dhoni's gesture showed that even in the perform-or-perish world of sport, there was space for gratitude and respect. In the same series when his then captain Anil Kumble bowed out after the Test in Delhi, Dhoni chaired India's greatest bowler on his shoulders. Dhoni has also reaped the benefits of the change in heart in a few talented youngsters. Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, have all embraced a stronger work ethic and the quartet has also figured out that the India cap is the greatest blessing. Kohli may have lost his Test spot for now but there is no mistaking the hunger within him. Truth be told, Dhoni has also benefited from helming a team that has evolved well under Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble. An overseas tour was no longer considered a great stumbling block and belief remained a key accessory in the kitbags that went past immigration counters. Dhoni's reign has also coincided with the final phase of Australia's decline while teams like England, South Africa and Sri Lanka have found consistency to be a fickle ally. Dhoni and Ganguly, with their respective ability to back unheralded talent like a Praveen Kumar, a Joginder Sharma or a Harbhajan Singh (in 2001) in crunch situations, are two individuals sharing that fierce desire to win at all costs and an uncanny extra sensory perception of the inner fires in fresh cricketers. But they are different men — Ganguly wears his emotions on his sleeve, Dhoni remains an inscrutable man. Two shirt-removing incidents tell a tale about the contrast in their personalities. Ganguly bared his upper torso and whirled his shirt at Lord's after India won the NatWest Trophy in 2002 and it was a moment that rippled with anger and a sense of vengeance. Dhoni removed his T-shirt too and that was after he led India to title triumph in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007. He smiled and handed over his attire to a young fan. There was grace and a quiet delight in that moment. The script is not entirely perfect though as there were whispers of Dhoni miffing a few BCCI officials due to his earlier habit of not attending phone calls. There was also talk about a hint of frost between Dhoni and Sehwag as the latter never fully came to terms with the captain's brief preference for Robin Uthappa. The media's fertile mind also spawned tales of how the musical chairs between Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha stemmed from the divide between captain cool and his explosive opener. Those blips have now been sorted out and Team India has steadfastly marched ahead. More milestones surely beckon a leader, who has this ability to stay remarkably grounded. Dhoni's friend, who prefers to stay in the background, spent a large part of that delirious night on April 2 with the Indian captain after the World Cup was won in Mumbai. “It was just amazing to watch him. He was so remarkably calm. The man was not emotional at all, obviously the sense of pride was evident but he was very composed,” the friend said. The forthcoming tour of England offers a stern test. Andrew Strauss has already turned on the verbals by saying that defeating India would be bigger than an Ashes triumph. In conditions that aid swing and seam, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad can be a handful and India as usual would bank on the seasoned hands of Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid. Thankfully for Dhoni, Zaheer Khan has been declared fit and that peps up the attack. In a sense, the wheel has come a full circle with India visiting England on the 40th anniversary of that epochal 1-0 series victory registered by Ajit Wadekar's men in Old Blighty in 1971. Being the best is about staying atop the heap and being alive to latest trends in the game. Dhoni surely has an unenviable task on hand but he can be trusted to deliver though a few worries will snuggle beneath his forehead — what next when Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman leave? The surprising decline of Murali Vijay, Kohli and S. Badrinath in the West Indies points out to that eternal truth — the journey is never over and more work needs to be done. For now, Dhoni will shepherd the team with poise and street-smart thinking besides chipping in with the bat while rallying the tail around him. As for the prospects on the distant horizon, that can wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What an article! :hatsoff: Dhoni-What a player! :hail:

[deepak_sach]

:adore::adore::adore:

[Trichromatic]

Sometimes it's kinda unbelievable how he reached to that level.

[Yoda-esque]

Dhoni epitomizes the way a person should approach life. Hats off!

[Sid]

*Respect* MSD!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NareshK]

:hatsoff:

[mishra]

Lets not forget Dada. TBF Dada is still best captain i have seen. If you see the same list, Dada faced two all time most successful test captain. And Dada did managed to beat them on attitude and management skill. If Aussies did not cheat throughout the series even with Aussie lineup made up of their legends, Dada and team would have performed better.... Dhoni is cool but Dada used to be just too cool.

[don_corleone840]

Lets not forget Dada. TBF Dada is still best captain i have seen. If you see the same list, Dada faced two all time most successful test captain. And Dada did managed to beat them on attitude and management skill. If Aussies did not cheat throughout the series even with Aussie lineup made up of their legends, Dada and team would have performed better.... Dhoni is cool but Dada used to be just too cool.

dhoni >>>>>>>>>>ganguly signatured by sachin tendulkar http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/story/509507.html nobody cares what u have seen.

[mishra]

dhoni >>>>>>>>>>ganguly signatured by sachin tendulkar http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/story/509507.html nobody cares what u have seen.

I do...

[deepak_sach]

Ganguly himself has told MSD is the best leader.

[mishra]

Ganguly himself has told MSD is the best leader.

I know that Deepak. When I made previous comment i knew Dada had made that statement.:hatsoff: to Dada.... Still working to support Indian cricket whatever way he could. Dhoni will one day give his best captain crown to i dont know who, may be Kohi or some new guy. When Dada started, Our team and fan morale was probably at the lowest. Whole team had "Connections". And whole of India knew about that, thanks "Tehalaka and Delhi Pollce". We used to loose against Australia, We used to loose against SouthAfrica and Pakistan and Srilanka were arguably no worse then us. And from there Dada started writing glorious chapters of Indian cricket. Remember in Toronto he won all the games by himself.

[Pagalpanti]

Dada was a good captain but to say he laid the foundation to this is nothing but a bs. There's no such thing like that, Dravid,Laxman and Sachin during their prime days in 2003-2007 weren't as successful over-seas as they are now so Dhoni must be doing something right. Just because he has won so many tournaments in short span people say he is lucky.

[vvvslaxman]

India's resurgence started after they started appointing foreign coach. It really worked for us.

[pensionplan]

dhoni >>>>>>>>>>ganguly signatured by sachin tendulkar http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/story/509507.html nobody cares what u have seen.

Without a doubt. Actually Ganguly had the better talent than MSD. But if one sees in the results in which ever form he has led MSD reached the pinnacle. 20-20 WC Win. 50 overs WC Win. No.1 in Test rankings. 2 IPL Trophy wins. 1 Champions league Win. When one contrasts that with Ganguly he does not even hold a candle to MS. Plus Ganguly was a bonehead when he let a better batsman like VVS bat below him for most part in Tests when he was the captain. Ganguly averaged 37 at no.5 spot where as VVS has averaged 50 at the same spot yet Ganguly for most part chose to ignore the cricketing merit and let his personal preference take precedence over team interests. And it is not a coincidence once Ganguly left and VVS is batting higher up he has had the best run as a batsman in his entire career and it also is showing in the team results as well. (Remember all those 4th innings deeds in just the last 8-10 months). Also if one paid close attention both SRT and VVS on numerous occasions openly said the dressing room environment has been at its best under MSD and the results are a testimony to that with absolutely no controversies.

[Pagalpanti]

^ VVS Still bats at no.6 so whats your point?

[saneindian]

^ VVS Still bats at no.6 so whats your point?

In the last few years, VVS has batted at 6 only when a nightwatchman has been sent in! No 5 is his permanent position now and in WI he batted at 4.