‘Dhanyabad yeh decision lene kelie’ - Fans react as Dilip Vengsarkar reveals why and how MS Dhoni became India captain after Rahul Dravid’s tenure

MS Dhoni’s greatness as the Team India skipper is unquestionable when it comes to winning major trophies. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 20-20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy. The Men in Blue also became the number one-ranked team in the longest format of the game.

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But, now in a recent chat with Hindustan Times, the former Team India player, Dilip Vengsarker revealed why and how Dhoni became India’s captain after Rahul Dravid’s tenure. Dravid decided to quit as India's all-format captain on 14 September 2007. During that time, Dhoni was leading India against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 20-20 World Cup.

“We saw Dhoni's approach to the game, body language” - Dilip Vengsarkar

Senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid opted out of the tournament. Dravid’s captaincy tenure was in danger after a 4-3 ODI series loss against England. India also lost the ODI World Cup in 2007 under his captaincy. So, it was no surprise for fans to see him quitting the captaincy. Dravid made his decision known to then-board president Sharad Pawar. Then, he tried to convince Sachin Tendulkar to become the skipper. But, he denied it and reportedly suggested the name of Dhoni.

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So, as per Vengsarkar, apart from that recommendation and Dhoni’s success in South Africa, the selection committee were looking to appoint him as the full-time white ball captain. Vengsarkar was leading the Indian selection committee then and regarding that, he said: “Apart from being an automatic choice in the team, you look at the player’s cricketing acumen, body language, ability to lead from the front and man management skills. We saw Dhoni's approach to the game, body language, how he spoke to others; we got positive feedback." Dhoni announced his retirement on 15 August 2020 from all formats of Cricket. However, he is still playing in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He also won the last edition of the tournament as it was his fifth IPL title. 

Here is how fans have reacted:

Thank you Sachin for recommending him and not pan masala sehwag

— The_cricket (@The_cricket18) June 21, 2023

Bring Dilip vengsarkar as selector

— NiteshDhoni7 (@niteshc92223016) June 21, 2023

Recommendation From SACHIN 🐐🔥

— ` (@Agastya_45) June 21, 2023

Dhoni's leadership was never in question and Vengsarkar's revelations only add to his legend. Captain Cool was the perfect choice to lead India to glory in 2007! 🇮🇳🏆 See my bio please~

— 💕CAMICLEMENTS🍠 (@CAMICLEMEN55594) June 21, 2023

God knows everything 🥰

— PEACEMAKER😈 (@Morku11) June 21, 2023

How he lead the senior players in the team is also a big thing

— V Kartik (@VKartik1) June 21, 2023

And he was also appointed as a mentor of our national team and the result we have seen.

— Pradyot Das (@PradyotDas4) June 21, 2023

That's why I think shreyash Iyer is the best option for odis captaincy. It's his best format, his body language is of a leader. Really liked him as DC captain. Let's hope he performs well for India in WC so that after the WC we can see him as captain.

— kuldeep singh (@ksnaruka99) June 21, 2023

What if didn't make him captain, we could win 2009,2010,2012,2014,2015,2016 world cups 😭😭

— Crictalker (@crictalker2) June 21, 2023