LIVE in the moment, keep it simple and work hard.
It may not be the most sophisticated philosophy to come out of India but it is a concise mantra which has served MS Dhoni well in four years as captain of his country`s cricket team.
As India`s first skipper from outside the main urban centres, the 30-year-old has already delivered the Holy Grail of the World Cup and over the next month takes on the challenge of leading his team to a maiden test series triumph in Australia.
Hailed by master batsman Sachin Tendulkar as the finest captain he has played under in a career spanning more than two decades, Dhoni`s leadership is not about rousing pep talks or even inspired gambles.
“The important thing is that he keeps things simple and not complicated,” chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said recently.
What Dhoni does display is leadership by example, no less so than when he promoted himself up the batting order and hit 91 not out to lead India to the World Cup triumph on home soil in early April, sealing the dramatic victory with a six.
The wicketkeeper-batsman cut his international captaincy teeth in the Twenty20 format by leading his country to victory of the inaugural World Cup in 2007.
There was immediate success too when he took the reins of the one-day side and led them to a series victory in Australia. He assumed the test captaincy in 2008.
“I love to be in the moment, I love to analyse things a bit,” Dhoni said in a recent interview with CNN news channel.
“Very often what is important is to realise what went wrong, not only when you are losing a series or a game, but also when you are winning a series. You need to realise which are the areas you need to work on.”
There have been calamities along the way, of course, including criticism of his wicketkeeping and his own poor form when India crashed out of the 2007 50-over World Cup in the first round.
Subsequently, the biggest setback of his leadership came when the test team where humiliated 4-0 in England earlier this year and relinquished the number one world ranking they had earned in December 2009.
One of Dhoni`s great attributes, however, has been his ability to keep his head in the midst of the frenzy that often surrounds the sport in cricket-mad India.
“He is always calm and never shows his frustration,” Tendulkar said after the World Cup triumph. “These are some of the human qualities which have made him such a good captain.”
