BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has said that Sachin Tendulkar had suggested Dhoni's name for captaincy. Jai Shah has given this statement to Jagran News. We have brought for you the entire incident when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was handed over the command of the Indian team. The management wanted Sachin to become the captain of India for the third time, but were adamant on the name of Master Blaster Mahi.
During the 2007 tour of England, Sachin Tendulkar had recommended Mahendra Singh Dhoni's name for captaincy. That year, Team India was eliminated in the first round of the ODI World Cup after losing to Bangladesh. There were strong protests in the country after the disappointing performance of the Indian team. After this, Team India's performance on the England tour was also poor. India had to face defeat 4-3 in the 7 ODI series. There was an outcry in India after this defeat. Preparations were made to remove captain Rahul Dravid. However, later he himself resigned from the post. Now the search for a new captain began.
Sachin first took command of Team India in the year 1996. He remained captain till December 1997. After this, in the year 1999, Sachin got a chance to captain again, but Sachin left the captaincy of Team India in the year 2000. In fact, whenever Team India's performance was poor, an attempt was made to avoid criticism by making Sachin the captain. He was the biggest name of Indian cricket. No cricket fan had any objection to the name of Sachin Tendulkar as captain. In such a situation, to avoid the displeasure of the fans, BCCI requested Sachin to take over the captaincy in 2007 also. To this Sachin replied that we have a leader who is still junior but you should watch him closely.
Sachin told that I used to field at first slip and during this time I had talked to Mahendra Singh Dhoni many times about the situation of the match. Although the team captain was Rahul Dravid, Dhoni's opinions were often spot on.
Sachin had said that 26-year-old Mahendra Singh Dhoni's reaction was calm, balanced and mature. Good captaincy is about always being one step ahead of the opposition team. If someone is smart enough to do this, then we must give him a chance. As we often say, play with consciousness, not passion. Sachin knew that you can never get 10 wickets in 10 consecutive balls. For this you will have to plan with complete preparation, only then you will get success.
Like Sachin, Dhoni also believed that at the end of the day the scoreboard matters more than anything else. If the process is correct, the result will definitely be favorable. Sachin said that I had seen all these qualities in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni could have played the entire game standing behind the wicket. Sachin told that that is why I had recommended the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain to BCCI and selectors. Instead of becoming the captain himself, Sachin handed over this responsibility to Dhoni in the interest of the country. At that time people opposed Dhoni, but Sachin remained adamant. Sachin made it clear that he will not take over the captaincy of Team India for the third time. Later, Mahendra Singh Dhoni fully lived up to Sachin's trust and became the only captain in the world to win the T-20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy.
