Former England captain, Michael Atherton, is frightened by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership qualities. Michael, in his column in The Times, said the defining cricketing image of the year has to be the instant Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped out of his crease and finished the World Cup with the crispest, cleanest straight drive conceivable.
It was the stroke of a man utterly confident in his judgment, as he had been, or at least given the appearance of being, all through a tournament in which his team and his management had been scrutinized by the expectations of a billion people.
Atherton said the entire innings summed up Dhoni's character.There was an element of risk-taking in the beginning, a sense of style in the denouement, but most of all a callousness to finish the job,he said.
The former England captain said Dhoni's record speaks a lot for his management skills.Dhoni's record as captain of India, and as captain of the Chennai Super Kings, is remarkable and it marks him out as a leader of surprising and considerable talents. He has led India to the top of the world Test rankings, to the World Cup and opening World Twenty20, as well as leading CSK to two Indian Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.
In four years, India has been beaten three times in Test cricket, and 15 wins make Dhoni's win-loss ratio as a Test captain up there with the best, he said. Atherton said the in order could be astonishing for England because they never took notice of a young Dhoni when they toured the sub-continent in 2006 under Andrew Flintoff.