Indian former captain MS Dhoni is known for keeping his brain cool in matches and that’s why he is denoted as ‘Captain Cool’!
Prior to his selection for the limited overs side, MS Dhoni was seen taking a fitness regime at National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru. During this time a cricket coaching seminar was conducted by Cricket Australia and Dhoni was invited to address the crowd.
He shared his insights on his career and said that though sledging is important against some oppositions main thing remains to be one’s skill.
“I felt what really helped me was playing against good players and playing a lot of matches and having that hunger to score runs irrespective of what level you are playing,” he said. “Technique is important. Right now there are so many things that can assist you… videos I felt was always the best example. When you’re batting, your coach tells you that your head is falling, (but) the moment you see your video, you’re the first one to tell your coach that your head is falling. So, visual reference is always of very good help,” he said.
No doubt he is one of the most successful Indian team captains and has three major ICC trophies on his cupboard. But he admitted that there are problems in Indian mindest even.
“In the Indian setup, there are a few things that we have to be very careful about. We don’t like to show our weakness. Even when there is a problem, we don’t like to admit it. If you don’t admit, you can’t improve. I always felt that admission of shortcoming is very important. You need to have the courage to admit that. It all boils down to your mindset,” Dhoni said.
“Keeping it simple does help. Looking ahead in time, the challenges that we may face, looking for solutions… For some team(s), sledging is very important, for some, hitting the right topic is very important. You don’t have to abuse someone to turn the screw. Hitting the right topic can be very subtle,” he added.
The seminar was attended by many Indian coaches too and almost five Australian Coaches. Even Australian fast bowler Gillespie was a part and he got much inspired by Dhoni’s speeches.
Dhoni was assisted by another all rounder wicket keeper of the team, Kedar Jadhav. Both are included in the 15 man squad for India’s limited over games against Sri Lanka.
