Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said veteran players never had an issue with MS Dhoni becoming captain ahead of the 2007 T20 World Cup. Despite having several veterans in the side, India appointed Dhoni captain at 26 in 2007.
The move worked wonders, as India won the 2007 T20 World Cup title. They also won two other ICC white-ball titles under Dhoni – the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy as well.
Talking about playing under Dhoni, Harbhajan said on Prakhar Gupta’s YouTube channel: “Dhoni took the team forward from where Ganguly left it because he never tried to impose his leadership style. Dhoni only focused on how to get the best out of the players, which he was exceptional at. We never had an issue with Dhoni becoming the captain despite being so young. Because we understood the captain wasn’t everything, and all 11 players had to do well for Dhoni to look good as captain.”
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“Dhoni was young when he took over as captain. But he already had players who were established, having played under Ganguly. 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,” he further added.
Harbhajan Singh applauded MS Dhoni for showing incredible calmness on and off the field at all times as captain as well.
“Dhoni’s biggest strength was his calmness at all times. He was quiet on and off the field. You can’t guess anything looking at his face. He could have become a great poker player. He was an amazing captain,” said Harbhajan Singh. “His wicket-keeping skills were unmatched. I don’t think there is a better wicketkeeper than him. He was faster than lightning. There was such a big difference between the first time he kept wickets to later. And I hardly used to see him work on his wicket-keeping skills. He used to work on his batting a lot during practice but not wicket-keeping.”
