MS Dhoni birthday: Greg Chappell recalls rightly predicting CSK captain would lead India

Former India cricket captain MS Dhoni celebrated his 39th birthday on Tuesday. The former India captain is one of the greatest captains to have graced the sport. MS Dhoni is known for his cool and calm demeanour on the field, which is also cited as one of the reasons behind his success. MS Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket who has won all the three ICC events (T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup & Champions Trophy) as captain.

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MS Dhoni birthday: Greg Chappell reveals what separated the CSK captain from the rest

India became a force to be reckoned with under MS Dhoni's captaincy. There are several fans as well as former cricketers who are in awe of MS Dhoni's astute understanding of the game. One among those fans is former India coach Greg Chappell. The Australian international had rightly predicted that MS Dhoni would lead the Indian team in the years to come.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, once Greg Chappell organised a team exercise where every player was asked to tell the camera a bit about his background. Greg Chappell vividly remembers being impressed by MS Dhoni's introduction. Chappell said that it was just remarkable how at each stage MS Dhoni had to improve. Chappell elaborated saying that at school, he was invited to come to their cricket scene, having been noticed at a playground after school. After becoming successful there, he was invited to play for a club, and then higher and higher tournaments.

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Chappell revealed Dhoni talked about how he felt he had to prove himself at each level and he had to do it frequently because of the dramatic progress he made. Chappell added that Dhoni was modest, but it was an honest appraisal of how he moved through the game. He reckoned that it was remarkable in a country where you didn't see so many young people with such self-confidence. Chappel also said that in India, youngsters have their decisions made for them by parents or schoolteachers or coaches or older people. However, he said that Dhoni built that confidence from having made his own decisions, as his father was believed to be fine with him playing cricket as long as he did not fail in his exams and got a work opportunity to earn.

Chappell further shed light on how the CSK captain was different from the average newcomer which was evident in the team environment too. Chappell said that during a team meeting if the senior players didn't speak, the juniors didn't speak either. He added that MS Dhoni was no different in this regard, but in a group, he moved quite easily between the senior players and the junior players. Chappell opined that whilst Dhoni had great respect for the senior players, he didn't appear to feel out of place.

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Chappell also said that he noticed others who were conscious of being positioned in the team. But with MS Dhoni it was different. Chappell added that Dhoni wasn't disrespectful in any way, but he wasn't going to be a junior player and sit in a corner and keep quiet. He was quite happy to initiate a conversation with Sachin Tendulkar or other senior players. He didn't feel the need to be invited to participate, unlike others. When Chappell noticed MS Dhoni's eagerness to participate and involvement in the game, it was apparent to him that Dhoni was going to lead India inevitably.

The Ganguly vs Chappell rivalry may have turned ugly for the former, but the presence of the Australian coach in developing Dhoni into a top cricketer can hardly be underestimated. It is believed that Dhoni got a greater sense of responsibility after nearly messing up a short run chase for India in an ICC Champions Trophy 2006 game against England by getting out in a reckless fashion.

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