Dilip Vengsarkar Reveals Why And How MS Dhoni Became India Captain After Rahul Dravid Quit
When Rahul Dravid decided to quit as India’s all-format captain on September 14, 2007, MS Dhoni was leading India against Pakistan in a group match of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.
This was effectively Dhoni’s first match as India’s captain as their tournament opener against Scotland was washed out without a ball being bowled. Dravid had, of course, opted out of the T20 version of the World Cup after a group-stage exit in the ODI World Cup a few months ago followed by a 3-4 loss in the ODIs to England. In Tests, however, the team was doing well. They had registered a 1-0 series victory against England but the writing was on the wall. Dravid’s days as the leader of the Indian side were numbered after the team’s dismal show in the World Cup in the West Indies.
After Dravid decided to opt out of the T20 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly too decided to give the tournament a miss. There was a clear indication that the T20 version was yet to gain and popularity and respect of the legends of the game. The selectors decided to send a young team to South Africa with Dhoni at the helm.
When Dhoni’s men were in the middle of the tournament, a new crisis developed back in India after Dravid decided to quit as captain. He made his decision known to then-board president Sharad Pawar, who then tried to convince Sachin Tendulkar to take up the role that the little master politely refused and reportedly recommended Dhoni’s name.
The Indian selection committee led by former captain Dilip Vengsarkar was not in a hurry to name Dravid’s successor and seeing Dhoni lead India in the T20 World Cup, it was an easy job, at least for limited-overs cricket. Dhoni was, however, named India’s white-ball captain before he led the nation to the inaugural T20 World Cup title. His immediate assignment after the global success was a home series against Australia.
Vengsarkar said apart from Tendulkar’s recommendations and Dhoni’s success in South Africa, what prompted the selection committee to appoint him permanently as the white-ball skipper was the leadership qualities he possessed.
“Apart from being an automatic choice in the team, you look at the player’s cricketing acumen, body language, ability to lead from the front and man management skills. We saw Dhoni’s approach to the game, body language, how he spoke to others; we got positive feedback,” Vengsarkar told Hindustan Times.
The move turned out to be a historic one. Dhoni would go on to become the Test captain after Anil Kumble retired in the middle of the 2008 home Test series against Australia. Three years later, he would lead India to the 2011 ODI World Cup title at home followed by the 2013 Champions Trophy title in England. In between, India also became No.1 in Test rankings under Dhoni’s leadership.
The legendary cricketer decided to retire from Test cricket in the 2014-15 Australia tour and finally handed over the reins of the ODI and T20I sides to Virat Kohli before the 2017 Champions Trophy. By then, Dhoni had carved his name as one of the most successful captains in world cricket.
He decided to retire from all forms of international cricket on August 15 2020. He, however, still continues to entertain the crowd as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings in IPL.