Former India off-spinner and commentator Harbhajan Singh has dismissed claims of resentment among senior Indian players over MS Dhoni being appointed captain ahead of established names such as Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and himself.
Harbhajan, who represented India in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, also explained why the senior players had no reservations about a much younger player being appointed captain ahead of them.
Further, Harbhajan added that Dhoni inherited an experienced group of cricketers who had already played together for seven to eight years, stating that senior players understood that the team’s collective performance was equally important to Dhoni’s success as leader.
“Dada (Sourav Ganguly) brought in the players and made the team… the likes of myself, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag. Dhoni had a set team of experienced players who had played together for seven or eight years,” Harbhajan said in an interview with Prakhar Gupta.
“We never had an issue with Dhoni becoming the captain despite being so young. We understood the captain wasn’t everything, and all 11 players had to do well for Dhoni to look good as captain. For Dhoni to be successful, it had to be a combined effort,” he stated.
“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. Dhoni only focused on how to get the best out of the players, which he was exceptional at,” Harbhajan concluded.
The decision proved successful, with Dhoni guiding India to three ICC titles: the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013.
