A Leader Steps Up- The Greatest Indian Captain

Winston Churchill said "The Price of Greatness is Responsibility." Never were these words more true than last evening in Mumbai. With the ultimate prize on the line the leader of eleven men walked out in to the middle to take on a challenge that most people believed he could not handle. With his customary swagger he rose to the occasion and embraced the God's of destiny like he was born to do. MS Dhoni joined the party late in this tournament, but once he arrived, he stole the show.

The tournament has not been easy for the captain. Being second guessed at every step is never easy for any leader let alone someone who has 1.2 billion people voicing their opinions. Yet this man was supposed to deliver with a team where only two bowlers were definite choices in the eleven. The other two being coin flips. That is hardly the make up of world cup champs. Yet, they had to win.

After every match, win or lose, he was analyzed by every one of us. Why did he bowl Nehra in the last over? Why is he sticking with Chawla? Nehra again? Oh my god, Sreesanth? Add to these question his terrible form with the bat and you can see the pressure piling on. And may be some of these are still valid questions but there are a few things that have happened in the past few days that reminded me why I blogged in 2009 about Dhoni being the greatest Indian captain ever. Here they are.

Admitting the mistake

After the win in Mohali against Pakistan he came out and said we read the pitch wrong. Despite a win like that he made this statement. 98% of people would not have done that. Why admit a mistake when you have won and more importantly Nehra had bowled a decent spell. Why then come out and say you made a mistake? Most people would have come out and said that they made the right decision, that Nehra bowled well and we won so I was right. Not this man. He had no issues saying, I got it wrong.

The Final

Not to take any credit away from Gambhir without whom India would not have won the world cup, but yesterday belonged to the skipper. Pushing himself up the order could have been a make or break career decision for him as captain. Take a moment and think about it, even now, after the match, can you think of a logical reason to do it? I can't.

Here is a guy who was in probably the worst form of his career in one of the biggest matches of his life. He has on his team the player of the tournament who is in the best form of his life. Common sense will tell you that in that situation you want your most in-form player to play as many overs as he can. You don't want Yuvi to come in to a near impossible situation where the match is already lost. The decision did not make sense.

But this is what great leaders do. He is not captain of India because he is lucky. He is captain of India because a captain is someone who takes charge. He stood up, said to himself that this one is mine. I am not letting it go and I am not leaving it in anyone else's hands. I am the leader, it is my job to win it.

From the moment he walked out and hit a couple of shots you could see a different Dhoni. He played positively. Body language is the ultimate indicator and his was sublime. Using his feet against Muralitharan, not afraid to play shots, the sound of his bat was echoing in the stadium. No one was going to bully him on that night.

Nothing lights up a team and gives it more confidence than when a captain performs. It lifts the teams spirit, excites the crowds and puts the opposition on alert. The big boss is here to play. And play he did. It was as if he stepped out and made a decision, we are not losing today.

This is what leadership is about. All the great leaders have stepped up at the right time. Clive Lloyd in 1975, Steve Waugh in the 1999 super sixes match against South Africa, Ricky Ponting in the 2003 final and MS Dhoni in 2011.

Whenever there is a crisis, be it in a country, a corporation or a sports team the people involved look to their leader. In such a situation no matter what the previous performances have been the leader has to step up and take charge. These are the situations that will ultimately determine how history will remember them. Either they take control and get it done, or they join the ranks of the many who have lead once, but never to glory. We know what Dhoni did.

My favorite part about Dhoni has always been his bluntness. He calls it like it is. He doesn't sugar coat any situation. He very humorously also said that Gambhir has only himself to blame for missing his ton. After the match he came out openly and said that a lot of people would have questioned his decision of Sreesanth vs Ashwin and why he came up the order. He is not a fool. He realized that if India lost, these decisions would be debated and discussed a million times over and he would be cursed beyond belief.

I've always said a decision on the cricket field is only as good as the result. Bowling Nehra against South Africa, probably not a good one. But had Bhajji bowled it with the same result we would have all been saying, how can you give it to a spinner? Similarly if Dhoni had gotten out cheaply yesterday and we lost, we would have cursed him for coming in before Yuvi.

Post the match during the victory lap he was humbly walking at the end of the line waving at the crowds. He allowed Sachin to be the center of attention and limelight and never once tried to steal the show from anyone. Moreover he kept himself in the background.

He is the only captain with two different World Cups under his belt. With such humility, guts, temperament, skill and leadership qualities Indian cricket is in safe hands for as long as he is around.

One last thing. In all your life, have you seen a better ending than his six? I haven't.