MS DHONI - A CHAMPION

A leader, a Champion and an enigma. Mahendra Singh Dhoni taught us many things through out his career.

*You may come from a small town, but you can become the captain of the Indian cricket team.

*You may not be technically sound and correct, but you can become one of the greatest limited overs batsman of all time.

* You may not have all the cricketing shots in the book, but you can become one of the best finisher the game has seen.

*You may not have text book wicket keeping skills, but you can do magic with gloves. Indeed he had changed the definition of a wicket keeper batsman. If, Being a wicket keeper is tough, Then being a captain, a wicket keeper and a finisher is another level.

*He made us believe that, we may fail at the beginning, but if we are determined to be successful, we will achieve the highest of heights of success.

                                   One of the all time greats of the white ball. 10000+ runs coming at middle and lower middle order with a strike rate of 90+ and an average of 50+ is diiferent level alltogether.

                            The captain MSD achieved what many captains strive for. A T20 world cup, 50 over world cup and champions trophy. The phase of 2008-2010 was one of the golden periods of Test cricket for India.

Numero uno team in test and odi formats.

                              Many nay sayers say that luck supported him through out his career, but as they say luck always favours the brave.

Dhoni has the fantastic ability to be the captain on the field and once the job was done, He was never in the picture. Look at the photo frames of 2007, 2011 and 2013

You will notice one common thing. Dhoni standing at the far right or far left.

                            His legacy when he finally finishes the game would be to tell all the youngsters to just go out and express yourself on the biggest of stages.

                        The greatness of Mahendra singh dhoni lies in the belief of each and every Indian cricket fan that if Dhoni is their till the end, no matter what the situation is India will win the match. This reputation can be earned only if you do what Dhoni had done through out his career. finishing the match.

      

RAHUL DRAVID - MY FAVOURITE PLAYER

The Dark knight of Indian Cricket, The wolf who lived for the pack, A silent warrior who guarded our fortress match after match, day after day, till he played the last match.

20th of june 1996, when he made debut at the mecca of cricket he scored 95 runs and missed the name on the LORD'S HONOUR BOARD by a mere 5 runs which he later achieved in 2011.

Generally in test cricket, number 3 position or one down is considered the crucial position. When an opener gets out early, he should start buliding the foundation. If the tone and tempo of the innings is set up by the opener, he should make sure that the flow of runs don't dry up. Rahul Dravid in his career donned the role in the perfect way. Many famous test match wins of INDIA in the early 20th century, the score board highlights a name. May it be the eden gardens of 2001, Leeds of 2002, Adelaide of 2003, Rawalpindi of 2004,kingston of 2006, perth of 2008. He is the main stay of all these test matches. When Ganguly scored his maiden test century, laxman scored 281, sehwag's 2 triple centuries , sachin 186* in hyderabad odi, the common partner was Rahul dravid. His front foot stride and rock solid back foot defence is one of the nicest things in the game of cricket.

                             An outstanding catcher at short leg, an extra ordinary slip fielder. Most catches in test matches by a non- wicket keeper.

When team asked him to open, he said yes

When team required a wicket keeper, he said yes

When team asked him to bowl, he said yes.

He is always remembered for his heroics in test cricket, but he is one of the few players to score 10000 plus runs both in ODI'S AND TEST MATCHES.  At one point of time, he has the record of fastest half century by an Indian when he scored 50 of 22 balls against Newzealand. He also has the record of hatrick sixes in t20's against england in 2011.

I admire him a lot because he is  always a team man. How many legends of the game would like to coach the u-19's when you get the chance to coach the strongest cricket team in the world. The u-19 world cup win of 2018 is a perfect example. The prithvi shaw's, shubman Gill's, kamlesh Nagarkoti's, shivam mavi's, rishabh pant's, hanuma vihari's, rahane's, pandya's say about their coach a lot because at Heart Rahul Dravid is a giver. He is a perfect role model for the young stars.

To conclude Harsha bhogle once said,

For a career full of grace, charm, timing and poise, it was said that it had to end with a slog. But that was once again , what the team just needed.