Former BCCI president, N Srinivasan has revealed the time when the selection committee was not in favour of MS Dhoni as captain. And it was that time when he exercised his power to retain him as the leader.
MS Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of International Cricket on Saturday (August 15). He retired as the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).
Team India had lost a Test series on the Australia soil 4-0 just after the 2011 World Cup winning feat, and the selection committee had decided to remove MS Dhoni from the ODI captaincy for the upcoming series, without even choosing a replacement for the job.
I Came And Said MS Dhoni Would Be The Captain In 2011: N Srinivasan
ODI World Cup-winning Team India was left in shambles in Australia as they were beaten 0-4 in the Test series. The selection committee wanted to change the team leader for the then-upcoming ODI series but the then BCCI president N Srinivasan exercised his veto.
“This was 2011. India had won the World Cup. And (then) in Australia, we didn’t do well in the Tests. So, one of the selectors wanted to remove him (Dhoni) as the ODI captain. The point is, how do you remove him as the ODI captain? He had won the World Cup (just a few months ago). They (selectors) had not even thought of who would be his replacement. There was a discussion and then (before the formal meeting) I said there was no way in which he would not be a player,” N Srinivasan told the Indian Express.
“In fact, it was a holiday. I was playing golf. I came back. Sanjay Jagdale was the (BCCI) secretary at that time and he said, ‘Sir, they (selectors) are refusing to choose the captain. They will take him (Dhoni) in the team’. I came and said MS Dhoni (would be the captain). I exercised all my authority as the (BCCI) president,” N Srinivasan added.
Left To The Selectors, They Might Have Even Dropped Him As A Player
N Srinivasan revealed that there was some hidden prejudice against him and he blocked the unanimous decision of the board to sack MS Dhoni as the captain. N Srinivas also played a big role in appointing MS Dhoni as the CSK captain.
“See, there was apparently some prejudice somewhere, which reflected. He (Dhoni) has won the World Cup for you. After 1983, India won it again and you say, ‘I don’t want him to be the ODI captain’! Left to them (selectors), they might have (dropped him as a player). I don’t know. I think that was the most unfair (move) and I am glad that I stood my ground,” N Srinivasan said.
“Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an exceptional person, exceptional cricketer and a very, very fair person. I have had the privilege of knowing him, moving with him for over a decade. I have in my lifetime met and seen great cricketers, people who had great cricketing skills. MS is an exception. He only thought of India and the team he played for,” he concluded.
MS Dhoni will be seen in action in the upcoming IPL 2020. He will lead his side to the 13th edition of IPL in September in the UAE. He has joined CSK’S training camp in Chennai before travelling to the UAE for IPL 2020.