1.”With the match heading towards a draw, and India having all but won the series against the Aussies, Dhoni the captain, decided to pay tribute to Ganguly: a great servant of Indian cricket but also the captain under whom Dhoni made his debut.

He asked Ganguly to captain the team for one last time. Ganguly did so for a couple of overs. And then tossed the ball back to Dhoni.”

No man, India won the match, and Dhoni gave the captaincy to Dada after the fall of the 9th wicket. Also, the fact that it was Dhoni himself who raised Kumble on his shoulders when Kumble announced his retirement after the end of the third test of the series.

2.. “When he was made vice-captain, Dhoni slashed his locks. He cut his hair and looked trim” – this is not completely true, as Dhoni had long hair while he won T20 WC. I think you are talking about vice-captaincy in tests

Shantan, on a different note, I disagree with many of your observations on Dhoni despite the fact that your’s is a brilliant post and I don’t feel I could have done such a remarkable job myself.

a. Comparison’s of Dhoni’s actons as captain of a winning T20 team and as an ordinary member of a team playing only his 15th ODI in a series where India already had a 2-0 lead is not absolutely fair and should not be taken as an indication of his persona

b. “Yet MS Dhoni openly said during the tour of Sri Lanka that he was fatigued and wanted to be rested for the Tests” – there are a number of ways in which this can be interpreted. Dhoni knew fairly well that he was the vice-captain of the team. That the existing captain Kumble was more or less a caretaker captain approaching the end of his career. That his closest rival to the pst of captain Yuvraj Singh was not yet a regular in the test team. That his closese rival to be the wicketkeeper of the team, and the man who played that series, Dinesh Karthik is nowhere close to being his perfect replacement in the team. This could have been a very well thought out and calculated gamble to earn some rest as well some brownie points

c. “I am sure many of you might be eager to put Ganguly in the same box. Fair enough.” – Ganguly and Dhoni never can be put in one box. Because Ganguly never enjoyed the privileges that many other cricketers in India do. This was a man who had the Damocles Sword constantly hanging over his head. Each defeat was magnified, Each victory was credited to someone else. Dhoni, on the other hand, has been definitely given a longer rope by the Board, the public, the media. This is not to belittle Dhoni, however – he has made opportunities count more than Ganguly ever did, and hence enjoys a much greater success rate.

d. “Would you ever expect the captain of a team not celebrate the moment of victory in a match that almost went down to the wire” – since this is about Indians, yes, one can say that no other Indian captain has reacted in this manner. However, cricket history is replete with such leaders – Victor Trumper, Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Bob Willis and Allan Border have been known to have criticised their team at award ceremonies for “not winning by bigger margins” or “not pushing hard enough” (refer to cricinfo archives, I don’t remember the exact links)

However, there are some more aspects of Dhoni that should be highlighted – Dhoni as a human being. Post the victory in the Commonwealth Bank series win in Australia in 2008, where he received the flak for not keeping Ganguly in the squad from certain sections in the media – he retorted by saying that if his team had lost, all would have been blamed for not keeping certain individuals in the team. It shows that he can give it back to the Indian media, who think they can make or break a cricketer’s career, something that even calm captains like Pataudi couldn’t achieve. Another such incident was the public display of unity at the T20 WC in 2009, when there were “unconfirmed” reports of rift with the team (Indian media’s favorite scheme)

Another aspect of Dhoni is that he is extremely media savvy and presentable. This not only makes him an extermely popular choice for ads, but also endears him to the general public. Case in point – Despite dropping Ganguly from the Indian squad, his popularity graph in Kolkata only soared, and did not fall; contrast this to what Rahul Dravid faced from the Eden crowd in November 2006, and one realises that Dhoni as a leader combines the grace of Bradman, the killer instinct of Ian Chappell and Douglas Jardine, the humane nature like Mike Brearley and the ability to inspire like Steve Waugh and MAK Pataudi.

~from, a fan

Also, a fact that some people might not agree to, especially those who have started watching cricket seriously post 2000 – a few of Dhoni’s great achievements as captains would not have been so easy had he become captain in, say 1995.

Example – the victory in NZ in 41 years. The NZ team minus Astle, Cairns, Fleming and Shane Bond is only a pale shadow of the team that was fearsome at homw till recently, and the pitches weren’t as dangerous as earlier tours. Similarly with Australia. The 2008 tour saw what can be described., at best a B-team of the Ozzies in late 90s. It was still a good team, infact, the number two test team at that moment, but without McGrath, Warne, Gilly and the rest – THAT thing was definitely missing

This is not to take any credit away from Dhoni, as an examinee can answer the paper given to him, (the level of difficulty doesn’t depend on the examinee’s whims and fancies) – but to bring to light the facts sometimes forgotten by the media

Also few aspects which could have been highlighted are:
1. Taking Risks: A leader always knows how and when to take risks. He knows when to play safe and when to take risks. An example could be giving last over of T20 World Cup Final to Joginder Sharma. Now I am not commenting on Joginder’s bowling abilities but to give a newcomer the final over that too against Pakistan in the Finals needs some guts and you gotta be a risk taking individual to take such a decision. The decision could have backfired big time as first two balls were Wide and a Six! But it paid off and rest as they say is history.
2. Cool and Calm Attitude: A leader will definitely feel that extra tension and nervousness inside but it is the outside that matters. If you can have a clear head during close games and show your confidence and calmness, it helps your team mates also and will elevate the morale of everyone.
3.Proactive not Reactive: It means being in a state of readiness and awareness, and usually involves thinking one step ahead. As a captain you always need to have Plan B in case Plan A does not work, Plan C in case Plan B also fails..So in short you need to be proactive and always ready for change. An example for this could be changes in batting order as per match situation or bringing on bowling changes very frequently to unsettle the batsmen.

Just some points off the top of my head.

Yes, agree with mohit’s point about PRO and not REactive. Reactive in that sense has a slightly negative connotation to it as well.

But the article as it unfolds, explains the sense in which the term is used very well too. So, no issues.

@shantan: Reactive generally when you react after a particular event has occured..let us say when a bowler is hit for a six he gets into reactive mode and he then follows it up with a yorker…but if he knows the weakness and strengths of batsmen he would try to bowl those deliveries which are his weaknesses..so thats being proactive..being one step ahead of ur competitors..another example could be we get sick (and scared)… we make a decision to start an exercise program and to ‘get healthy’ — Reactive
You follow a strict exercise program and eat healthy diet to avoid being sick—Proactive…
So when i said for a captain to be proactive i just meant he needs to be thinking ahead. Also he needs to be Reactive cos always plans may not get executed as per your wish and then you gotta adjust to the situation

i very inspired with mahi