Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh clarified that the senior players in the national squad had absolutely no problem or friction when a 26-year-old MS Dhoni was appointed captain ahead of the 2007 T20 World Cup.

Speaking in an interview on Prakhar Gupta's YouTube channel, Harbhajan dismissed long-standing rumors of dressing room tension, clarifying that senior players like himself, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh accepted the decision smoothly because they understood that "captain wasn't everything".

He added that the entire playing XI had to perform collectively for a captain to look good, and Dhoni excelled at managing different personalities without enforcing a rigid leadership style.

The decision by team management ultimately paid off, laying the groundwork for India to claim three major ICC trophies under Dhoni's captaincy -- the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

"Dada (Sourav Ganguly) brought in the players and made the team... the likes of myself, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag. Dhoni had a set team of experienced players who had played together for seven or eight years," Harbhajan said.

"We never had an issue with Dhoni becoming the captain despite being so young. We understood the captain wasn't everything, and all 11 players had to do well for Dhoni to look good as captain. For Dhoni to be successful, it had to be a combined effort," he added.

Harbhajan, who represented India in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, highlighted Dhoni's hands-off, high-trust leadership approach, which allowed experienced players to thrive without feeling micromanaged.

"Dhoni's best quality is that he never imposed himself on the individuals by telling them what to do. He knew that many of us had played for several years and were aware of what needed to be done in different situations. Dhoni only focused on how to get the best out of the players, which he was exceptional at," Harbhajan remarked.