Straight bat

MS Dhoni has had a relatively smooth transition into the role of the captain of the Indian cricket team. It looks like he was born to do it and yet, last year, very few would have ventured to suggest his name when Dravid stepped down as the captain prior to the Twenty20 World Cup.

In a candid interview with CricInfo, MS Dhoni touches upon this and many other issues. I was initially going to place this in the links posting of earlier today, but realized that there was enough meat in the interview to warrant a separate posting by itself.

Unafraid to speak his mind and possessing a clear vision of what he wants in, and from, his team Dhoni is turning out to be a very astute captain, rising immensely in my esteem.

His basic philosophy on captaincy could be a from a course in leadership skills at an MBA institution. He has a nice way of describing it.

...I've always said the captain is the guy who accumulates all the pressure and then channels it to different individuals - bowlers or allrounders or batsmen. Basically he's a selfish guy who picks guys to do the job for him. It's very important for him to motivate others who'll do loads of jobs for him.

He'd fit right in with WVUCC, too. Here's an anecdote that sounds so similar to some of the things we did.

At school I used to score regularly but I think they were quite afraid of my temperament. I was very aggressive with the guys who were not really 100% on the field. Once, in a senior district tournament game, we were playing a comparatively weak side on a matting wicket. There were some guys who dropped catches and were laughing around and all that stuff. I said, "Okay, I'm bowling." I told those three or four guys: "You stand at midwicket and do all the talking. I'll manage with the six others."

Dealing with egos is bound to be the biggest obstacle for a captain. Dhoni explains how he deals with players who are not in the squad for a particular game.

I keep it very simple: "This is the thing I want and that's the way it'll go." So instead of going there and explaining too many things and confusing yourself and confusing him, it's important to make it very simple. At the international level you have guys who've played a lot - either at the domestic or at the international level - so I don't really believe in telling them too many things or making everything clear - they are clever enough to know what is happening and what are the demands of the game. That's one of my theories. I think it's working.

It is interesting that the two captains that India now has are both folks who were not considered to be the 1st, 2nd, or even the 3rd option before they got the job. Commenting on Anil Kumble's style of captaincy, Dhoni has this to say.

His communication is a lot better than mine. It's one of the things I'm learning and should learn. The rest I think we're the same. I think communication-wise he's a lot better than me.

In closing, his parting shot is aimed at the media that seems to need to focus on some negative thought to push for higher TRP ratings. He makes a very valid point here.

If the result wasn't in our favour, what would have happened then? Would people have really been behind this side? You questioned this side and now that this side has performed, you should back them; you should say good things about them as well. We all knew what would have happened if the side didn't win in Australia. It would have been, "Oh, we all knew this side wouldn't win". But now that it has done well, why don't you appreciate this side?

Actually, I think the side has been appreciated quite a bit for the victory in Australia, but the emphasis seems to have been on individual performances, more than on the team's accomplishment, which may be what he is trying to say.

All in all, Indian cricket in in good hands. I hope he is able to maintain his equilibrium and receives the support he should get when things don't go so well. But why I am skeptical about that happening?