Indian cricket has seen many captains in the past, but the kind of influence MS Dhoni brought, undoubtedly, worked as a game-changer for Indian cricket.
Being a leader of the Indian cricket team isn’t an easy job at all. This is due to the fact that after every single game, a captain has to go through several scrutinies levied by fans and experts. Dhoni had experienced everything during his captaincy regime and has done magic.
Dhoni’s calm and composed attitude has helped him to win many battles. However, there were times when his decisions were questioned. One such incident happened in 2008 when a decision he made during a selection meeting was leaked, which created a lot of buzz.
According to a report in 2008, Dhoni wasn’t in favour of the selectors’ decision to replace RP Singh with Irfan Pathan. The report further says that MSD even threatened to give up his captaincy, and eventually had his say in the next two matches.
Remembering the episode, RP stated that Dhoni was impartial when it came to picking the right players for his team, and the leak didn’t impact him at all.
“I don’t think I was affected by the leak. The England series we are talking about, I didn’t get a wicket in Indore. Obviously, people think they will get 2 or 3 more chances. But it was not meant to be. Some get five chances, some get ten chances the lucky ones,” RP told Sports Tak.
RP said, he regularly spoke to Dhoni about the areas of improvement. The Raebareli speedster claimed that he has a good friendship with the Ranchi superstar but leading the country is an entirely different thing.
“We [Dhoni and I] discussed where I could improve, what I can do to get better. I know MS Dhoni. Friendship is a different thing, but leading the country is different altogether. At that moment, I think he pushed the ones who he thought were better. I think he pushed people whom he thought would follow the plans better,” added RP.
The left-arm pacer also admitted that he was released from the team because there was a reduction in his swing as well as speed. Though, he expressed that he has no regrets in his career.
“This is why MS Dhoni is MS Dhoni today. His unbiased opinions on cricket and decision making. I didn’t play as much as I should have because maybe my speed dipped and my swing dipped. Everything else is secondary. If I had improved then, I would have played more. But I am happy with whatever I achieved,” the 34-year-old added further.
RP was the part of Winning team of the 2007 T20 World Cup squad. He represented India in 14 Tests, 58 ODIs and 10 T20Is. The last appearance of RP came in an ODI match against England in September 2011.
