Former India wicketkeeper MS Dhoni has left a massive impact on the game with his leadership. He is the only skipper in the history of cricket to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Under his leadership, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin among others released their potential at the highest level and went on to establish themselves as the superstars of Indian cricket.
While Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020, he continues to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). During his captaincy stint, the Chennai-based franchise not only bagged five IPL titles but also became a symbol of consistency and excellence.
Dhoni's leadership was characterized by his calmness under pressure, shrewd tactics and an uncanny ability to extract the best from his players.
In a recent public event, MS Dhoni shared the secret of CSK’s success. He revealed that once new players enter the squad, the first assessment is based on whether that player fits into the CSK environment and, if not, what measure can lead the player in that direction. And if all else fails, there is no option but to release the player irrespective of his reputation.
“We get a very good player in our team, but he is drastically different to our environment. So what do we look for? We want him to take that one step towards the team’s goal. We are happy to move three steps towards him, but let’s say if that’s not the case, the second-best thing is, okay, you keep doing what you are doing, but don’t disrupt us. So that’s the second-best option.
“The third is you have to let him go. So, these are three scenarios because at the end of the day, whether it’s business or sport, we want to do well. So, one of the jobs of the think tank is to get the most out of the individual. If he is very good for the team, I will have to try whatever different ways to make sure that he’s an asset to the team. But he also needs to be willing to take that step. if he doesn’t take the first step, fair enough. I have a second in line and a third in line, but at some point in time, I can’t.
“I don’t want the whole team to adapt to the individual because that is wrong. So, you have to let him go. He may be the greatest player, but you have to let him go and somebody else, you know, will come and take his place. He may not be as good as him, but he will help, you know, the team perform better," said Dhoni in a video posted by CSK on YouTube.
MS Dhoni, who stepped down as CSK captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season, also mentioned that having fear and pressure helps you make right decisions.
"Fear is very important. You need to have that fear because unless, if I don't have fear, I can never be brave. I can never be courageous, you know. So I always felt that fear is important, that the pressure is important because that helps me take the right decision, keeping everything in mind. If I have fear, you know, a lot of people talk about I'm fearless.
"If you are fearless, then you will be reckless. Because if I don't have fear, I won't respect the normal thing. If I don't have fear of height let's say nothing. So, it hardly matters when I am walking on the road, when I am walking on the rope, you know. So I felt all these things are important for the development of an individual," Dhoni remarked.
On the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, MS Dhoni handed over CSK’s leadership baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Despite struggling with a calf injury, Dhoni’s performance this season was remarkable as he aggregated 161 runs at an average of 53.66 and a staggering strike rate of 220.54 across 11 innings.
It remains to be seen whether the legendary cricketer will come back to play for another season or will retire from professional cricket.
