MS Dhoni, India's greatest?

Moments after the cricketing world was informed of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's resignation as India's limited-overs captain late on Wednesday evening through a BCCI mail, one of the questions that did the rounds was: "Has Dhoni got a feeling that the Indian team is not his anymore, but Virat Kohli's?"

Make no mistake, it is very much Dhoni's Team India as much as it will be Kohli's.

It was under Dhoni that the current set of India players made a mark in world cricket and learnt many aspects of the game. It is no secret that Kohli himself, who debuted under Dhoni's leadership in Dambulla in August 2008, acknowledged Dhoni's immense help in moulding him as a captain.

Kohli acknowledged the same at the start of the season: "Decision making is very hard at times and it takes a lot of courage to do that. I learnt a lot from Dhoni, seeing the way he made decisions. They might have been right or wrong, but to convince yourself to make one decision and go forward with it, I think that is the essence of being a captain."

It's not just Kohli. There have been international captains including Australian George Bailey who have learnt captaincy skills from Dhoni besides admiring the cool and composed manner in which the 35-year-old World Cup-, World T20- and Champions Trophy-winning captain has conducted himself in victories and defeats. Dhoni has won more admirers within and beyond the Indian shores.

And thus, it raises a question: where would history place Dhoni in the list of India's greatest captains?

Mere statistics alone will place the man from Ranchi as India's greatest limited-overs captain. Third in the all-time list of players to have led most in ODIs – 199 – behind Trans-Tasman rivals Ricky Ponting (230) and Stephen Fleming (218) – Dhoni has won almost everything that a captain can dream of.

However, in the annals of Indian cricket, there have been captains who have led the nation to cricketing glory with none better than Kapil Dev conquering the world in 1983, stopping the marauding West Indies from completing a hat-trick of World Cup titles.

Kapil Dev, the captain, gave the Indian team the self-belief that they can beat the best even with limited resources but maximum effort. His World Cup-winning moment inspired a whole generation of youngsters to take up the game including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who have gone on to lead the country with varying successes.

Will that place Kapil as India's greatest limited-overs captain?

Or will that tag go to Sourav Ganguly, who captained India in 146 ODIs including leading the country into the 2003 World Cup final? Ganguly instilled the confidence among the team of superstars that India can win overseas too, and challenge the best outside the sub-continent.

India's modern never-say-die attitude took big shape under Ganguly. He took over the reins when Indian cricket was rocked by match-fixing at the start of the 21st century.

Even the world-class players in the side acknowledge Ganguly's role as captain and the transformation he made to Indian cricket, something that Kapil's Devils express of the Haryanvi's leadership skills at every available platform.

Mohammad Azharuddin, captain for a decade from 1989 to 1999 including three World Cups and 174 ODIs, was untouchable when it came to captaincy, until the match-fixing controversies overshadowed his cricketing records. Azhar, though, looked good when India won in the sub-continent but not outside of it and is regarded as the best captain current chief coach Anil Kumble ever played under.

And then came Dhoni. He let his team play with freedom, took decisions that surprised even his teammates and backed his instincts to the core. Dhoni could be India's greatest captain when it came to backing one's instincts. Asking Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over of 2007 World T20 final or promoting himself to No. 4 in 2011 World Cup title clash raised many an eyebrow.

Those decisions were not planned. They were instantaneous based on situations. They looked great because their actions succeeded. And, that is where Dhoni has inched ahead of other captains.

Among the men with sharpest cricketing acumen, Ravi Shastri, who was the Kohli of his playing days, and Kumble did not lead India for long. Otherwise, they would have also come into contention in this debate. Sunil Gavaskar, known more for his defensive captaincy in Tests, led India to World Championship of Cricket triumph in Australia in 1985, another watermark moment in Indian cricket history while there have been other momentous occasions at different phases.

Every generation will have a difference of opinion on whether Dhoni is India's greatest limited-overs captain. Who knows, Kohli might make the debate hotter in the years to come.

SUCCESS RATE OF INDIA'S ODI CAPTAINS

(Minimum 50 ODIs)
Captain Period M W L T NR Win%
Kapil Dev 1982-1992/1993 74 39 33 0 2 54.16
Md Azharuddin 1989/90-1999 174 90 72 8 4 51.72
Sachin Tendulkar 1996-1999/2000 73 23 43 1 6 35.07
Sourav Ganguly 1999-2005 146 76 65 0 5 53.90
MS Dhoni 2007-2016 199 110 74 4 11 59.57

MOST ODIS AS CAPTAIN

Captain Period M W L T NR Win%
Ricky Ponting 2002-2012 230 165 51 2 12 76.14
Stephen Fleming 1997-2007 218 98 106 1 13 48.04
MS Dhoni 2007-2016 199 110 74 4 11 59.57
Arjuna Ranatunga 1988-1999 193 89 95 1 8 48.37
Allan Border 1985-1994 178 107 67 1 3 61.42