Legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar reveals that while standing in the first slip he observed MS Dhoni’s match-reading skills which convinced the batting legend that he was ready for India captaincy, something he told the BCCI when he was asked for his suggestion back in 2007. Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid had decided to move out of the ICC World T20 that year to give juniors a chance.

Talking about the same during a chat with PTI, Sachin said, “I had mentioned that I won’t be going to SA as I was carrying a few injuries… But back then, I used to stand in the slip cordon and I used to interact with MS and understand what he was thinking, the field setting and I would discuss all those aspects. I came to the conclusion that he had a good cricketing brain so I suggested to the board that this is what I feel. MS should be the next one to take charge.”

Sachin said he was impressed by Dhoni’s ability to convince anyone of his decisions.

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Explaining the same, Sachin Tendulkar explained, “Whatever I was thinking and whatever he thought, we were more or less on the same page. If I have to convince you about something, I have to be on your page and that is exactly what happened with MS. We both were thinking alike and that’s why I suggested he should be the one.”

Dhoni became the Indian Test skipper when the dressing room already consisted of Sachin himself, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan as senior cricketers. For Tendulkar, it was his duty to give multiple suggestions to Dhoni and let him enjoy the freedom of taking the final call.

Explaining the same, Sachin said, “If each person contributes in different capacities, then there is less load on captain… That”s what good teams do. When MS became the Test captain in 2008, I had completed almost 19 years in international cricket. After having played that long, I also understood my responsibility. They looked up to me as an elder brother and it was my duty to guide them and tell them what I feel and also tell them equally.”

Another aspect that becomes challenging for a young skipper is maintaining friendships with contemporaries in the team. But Dhoni, according to Tendulkar, set the bar quite high as far as compartmentalizing personal and professional equations was concerned.

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Tendulkar explained, “I firmly believe that friendship and cricket can be two separate things. You can be friends but that should not affect your ability to take decisions as a captain you want to take. Friendship shouldn’t be dependant on that. Friendship should otherwise only be friendship whether the captain takes a decision in your favor or someone else’s favor. Friendship should still last. It has got nothing to do with whether you are getting a chance to play or not.”