Sachin Tendulkar declares Dhoni as the best captain he has played under
The Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, has expressed his utmost gratitude and fervor for playing under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Devoting 20 years of his life for the love of cricket, Tendulkar praised his captain who
clinched the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011, last Saturday in Mumbai. Dhoni not only led the Indian team by example but has also set an iconic benchmark for high-performance cricketers.
The accolade from the Little Master is set to make Dhoni even more proud of this achievement in any of the forthcoming mega events. Dhoni is one of the many captains, and perhaps the only one, who has the privilege of having the
Little Master in his team.
Tendulkar started his career in 1989 under the captaincy of present chief selector Kris Srikkanth. He then went on to play under the captaincies of Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble.
However the Mumbai Maestro reckons Dhoni’s ability to maintain his composure. He said, “He [Dhoni] is the best captain I have played under. He is very sharp and always alert. He reads the situation well and is open to sharing ideas.
He always has discussions with bowlers, batsmen and senior players separately.” “He is always calm and never shows his frustration. These are some of the human qualities which have made him such a good captain. He is a fantastic captain.”
The Little Master added that it was the ability of the Men in Blue to absorb pressure at the crucial junctures of the knock-out round matches, which made their World Cup win possible. The Indian team displayed a high level of enthusiasm
and determination by defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final in Mumbai.
There were two extremely hard-fought wins over Australia and Pakistan and a patchy performance in the group matches, which meant that the Indians prevailed over their opposition in the final with greater ease.
Tendulkar further added, “In the knockout stage we peaked at the right time; it was most important. We knew either the batting was clicking, or bowling, or fielding but everything was not clicking together, but [apart from] in
the last three games. Everybody contributed, right from seniors to the juniors in the team. No one can guarantee results but efforts can be [guaranteed].”
The Little Master has also confirmed to the Indian media that he wants to continue playing and is keen on winning more games for his country besides going past the landmark of century of international centuries.
He has 51 Test and 48 ODI hundreds to his credit, the total of 99 means he is a single century away from reaching the magical figure which is considered insurmountable in the era of cricket.
His obsession for the game is as big as ever and that is not a good sign for bowlers from around-the-world who were hoping that he would have his thirst quenched after winning the ICC World Cup 2011.
Even in the premier tournament he was at his best slamming nearly 500 runs to end up as the second highest run-scorer behind the Sri Lankan opener, Tillakaratne Dilshan. The next pinnacle for him would be to accumulate more test
runs on the tours of England and Australia later this year. The Indians have not won a series in Australia since the 1970’s and the current team under the inspiring leadership of Dhoni certainly has an eye on the four-time former World Champions.