MAHENDRA Singh Dhoni, who inspired the country to its first World Cup title in 28 years, found himself ranked above global football icon Lionel Messi and US President Barack Obama in the Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world for the year 2010.
Dhoni, ranked 52nd in the chart, was the only Indian sportsperson to make the list which also included four of his compatriots in “Titan of Industry” Mukesh Ambani (61), “Brain Mapper” VS Ramachandran (79), “Philanthropist” Azim Premji (88) and “Change Agent” Aruna Roy (89).
He found himself way above Messi who was just below Obama at the 87th spot in a list topped by Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who became the “Spokesman for a Revolution” in Egypt.
It was under him that the Indian cricket team won the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in 2007.
The magazine described him as “captain fantastic.”
“Dhoni is now universally acknowledged as India’s best captain ever. He’s also its most likable, exuding both cool confidence and down-to-earth humility.
“As astonishing as Dhoni’s talent is his background. Indian success stories are usually associated with pedigree, connections and power. Dhoni, from a small-town family of modest means, had none of these, but he’s shown India that you can make it with only one thing: excellence,” read the accompanying profile penned by acclaimed author Chetan Bhagat.
“Dhoni doesn’t just lead a cricket team; he’s also India’s captain of hope. And he didn’t just win India the World Cup; he also taught India how to win.”
Only the second
The highest-ranked Indian in the latest Time list, he is only the second Indian sportsman after Sachin Tendulkar to make it there.
The other global celebrities included are US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is incidentally ranked higher than Obama at 43rd, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (6), and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (9).
