Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is considered to be the most shrewd mind when it comes to captaincy.
After getting the captaincy role during 2007 T20 world cup, Dhoni made some bold moves which surprised the fans but the outcome of it was praiseworthy.
Recently, Team India former fielding coach R Shridhar opened up on the 2 X-Factor of Captain Cool which he considered non-negotiable.
While talking to Cricket.com, R Shridhar said that when he joined team India in 2014, Dhoni was very focused on fielding and running between the wickets. Sridhar said that Dhoni changed the meaning of fitness in team India.
“MS… when he was captain, he led the fielding. And the running between the wicket was to me, an eye opener. MS said that ‘two things that are non-negotiable for me are fielding and running between the wicket’. And that is something which still holds true. And the kind of emphasis he laid on fielding, Virat took it forward. Ravi always said that the 11 best fielders will take the park. So that is the kind of importance that was laid on fielding,” Sridhar told Cricket.com.
Former Indian fielding coach was also asked to pick the best fielder of India during his tenure. Replying to this question, Sridhar did not recite any particular name. He said that he enjoyed fielding sessions with some bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. He also added that Mohit Sharma was a great fielder and a fast bowler. Apart from these bowlers, he said that fielders like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Manish Pandey were always great in the field.
If we talk about some great decision of MS Dhoni, the vision of sending Rohit Sharma as team’s opener and then backing Kohli after continuous failure was something that will be always appreciated. He also ensured that team India’s young guns should not only focus on fielding and batting, but also look after one of the most important aspects of cricket which is fielding.
