Aakash Chopra praised MS Dhoni for not seeking recognition and instead wanted his team to win as leader and captain.
Under Dhoni’s leadership, India won three major titles. First, the 2007 T20 World Cup. Next, the 2011 ODI World Cup. Finally, the 2013 Champions Trophy. Plus, the Men in Blue became the best Test team in the world.
In a video posted on his YouTube account, Chopra discussed MS Dhoni’s leadership approach. He elaborated on how the former India captain never stole the spotlight, saying:
“Mahendra Singh Dhoni the leader, Mahendra Singh Dhoni the captain – it’s a huge chapter in itself. I was reading about Nelson Mandela, who said that leadership has many ways. You lead from the front, you lead from behind, you lead by example, you lead by committee.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra added:
“He captained in a very different way. He has always captained from behind. He allowed the others to flourish. He didn’t want credit, he just wanted to make his team win. You can take the credit, remain close to and lift the trophy, and he will stand somewhere on the side.”
Aakash Chopra
According to Chopra, Dhoni emphasized the players’ talents while concealing their faults to the greatest extent feasible. He said that the talismanic skipper understood that he needed to construct a team and that players only perform well when given confidence, a notion he continuously applied wherever he commanded.
“What was left to achieve?” – Aakash Chopra on MS Dhoni’s trophy-laden career
According to Aakash Chopra, MS Dhoni has conquered almost every frontier as a captain. He stated:
“What was left to achieve? He won the T20 World Cup when no one expected he would be made the captain. Then the IPL happened, where the Chennai team won their first trophy in 2010.”
“You won the World Cup again under his captaincy in 2011, finished it off in style with a six. After that, you also won the 2013 Champions Trophy. Chennai kept winning trophies one after the other in the IPL. So he became captain par excellence.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra continued by saying that MS Dhoni is the best skipper in white-ball cricket. He admitted that the 90-Test veteran was little defensive as captain in the longer format. He clarified that the situation probably resulted from insufficient materials in the bowling section.