Published: Apr 05, 2011, 12:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 19, 2014, 05:24 PM (IST)
By Vinay Anand
Even as the impact of the World Cup victory is sinking in, Mahendra Singh Dhoni finds the icing on the victory cake: Sachin Tendulkar naming him as the best captain he has played under. And that’s a huge honour considering that Tendulkar has played under the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly – amongst India’s most successful captains.
Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989 – against Pakistan. His then Indian captain, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, is currently India’s chief selector. Srikkanth’s tenure was brief and he was replaced by Mohammad Azharuddin in January 1990. It was under Azhar’s captaincy that Tendulkar blossomed to be the batsman that he is today. He was promoted up the order to bat at No 4 in Tests and to the opening slot in ODIs in 1994.
Azhar, however, was a complex character. His regime was full of intrigues. The relationship between Azhar and Tendulkar wasn’t exactly harmonious, even if there were no open frictions. Tendulkar was seen as a paragon of virtue, while there were always disturbing rumours about Azhar. Then it all came out in the open. The match-fixing saga put an end to this strained relationship with Azhar disgraced and banned for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Tendulkar took over as the Indian captain, but like the great Sir Garfield Sobers, his captaincy was probably the weakest plot in an otherwise fabulous script.
The elevation of Sourav Ganguly as captain was a watershed in Indian cricket. He infused his youthful energy with a sense of purpose that was hitherto not seen in Indian cricket. Here was a young man who was willing to give it back the sledgers on the international scene. He backed the youthful talent under him like Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan Singh. He was not only willing to take on strong oppositions like Australia and pay them back in the same coin, but he was unafraid in taking on the establishment as well. He commanded the respect of his players. The ‘brat-brigade’ loved the working style of “Dada” and his ‘Dadagiri’, in a manner of speaking. This was a new India and the youth of this new India was a far cry from the India of the past.
Tendulkar, of course, was the anti-thesis of Ganguly. If Ganguly was in your face, then Tendulkar was mild-mannered and polite. If Ganguly was brash, then Tendulkar was polite. They were contrasting personalities, but the two men had respect for each other’s talents and had a healthy working relationship, even if their approach was different.
Unlike Azhar, Ganguly was pro-active and visibly showed his passion to win. If India won the 2011 World Cup, then it’s because the seeds of victory were sown under Ganguly’s leadership.
Then came the eminently forgettable era under Greg Chappell as coach. It was easily one of the most turbulent eras under a man whose man management skills were horrendously wrong. With a strong personality like Ganguly leading India, it was obvious that he would clash with the new coach. The coach and the captain could not see eye to eye and it finally ended with Ganguly losing not just his captaincy but also his place in the team.
Then came Rahul Dravid. Of all the captains Tendulkar had played under, Dravid was closest to his personality. Yet, Tendulkar might not have been impressed with Dravid’s captaincy. Dravid was seen a puppet under Chappell. And Chappell was liked or trusted by nobody in the Indian team. Under the circumstances, things were difficult for Dravid. India were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup in the first round itself, and Dravid resigned as captain from all formats of the game a few months later.
Then came Anil Kumble. The genial Kumble’s leadership qualities were evident in Australia during the 2008 in the Test series where he led the team to victory, despite the huge controversy at Sydney – a Test that threatened to split the cricketing world apart. It was very clear that Kumble, quite sadly, got the captaincy pretty late in his career and it was only a matter of time Dhoni took over from him.
Dhoni became India’s captain in all formats to mark the start of India’s glorious run –which runs till date. The respect and trust Dhoni has for Tendulkar is evident on the field and in the captain’s media interviews. It a relationship based on mutual trust and respect. Tendulkar commands a reverence from his team mates, the likes of which cricket has not seen. And even though Dhoni is the captain, everybody from the skipper onwards heeds Tendulkar advice. And it’s this harmonious relationship between each member of the team in general and the captain and his senior most player in particular that have done a world of good for the Indian team. It’s no surprise then to hear that Tendulkar regards Dhoni as the finest captain he has played under.
What Tendulkar probably likes about the Indian captain is that he is humble, a man who prefers his game do the talking and someone who is a team man to the core – very much like the man he himself is.
Tendulkar has experienced how nightmarish the Indian captaincy is, with the expectations of a billion people. The pressure is enormous. He knows that he himself had not done a great job as India captain and so must be admiring Dhoni for what he has achieved. Its respect well earned and, I dare say, something that Dhoni will cherish it forever.
(Vinay Anand, 17, has an uncanny eye for detail. He revers cricket – looking beyond the glamour into the heart of the game where true passion, perseverance and grit meet. To him, there is no greater joy than coming closer to the sport while exploring its intricacies through his writing and treading ahead to establish himself as a writer and presenter)
