5 Prominent trump cards of MS Dhoni

Captain charismatic MS Dhoni is not only known for his calm demeanour but also is very famous for his stunning leadership skills. His leadership style is unique. He doesn’t go by the tried and tested method nor he is a fan of orthodoxy. Dhoni has been remarkably successful in getting things done in his own through his surprising decisions.

Some of his methods even take the purists and pundits by surprise who initially remain sceptical and then sing praises of his cricketing sense. He relies on his instinct to make crucial judgements and that has led to him having many unusual match winners, especially in the bowling department.

Over the years, we have seen him use lesser known part-timers, who have little reputation as bowlers, to bring success to the team. Those bowlers, known as his trump cards, have been the surprising packages for the opposition. So, here in this article, we try to list 5 such unusual bowlers who have been the game changers for skipper MS Dhoni.

1. Joginder Sharma

Joginder Sharma was perhaps the biggest and the most famous trump cards MS Dhoni ever pulled out from his pack. A young skipper with an equally young team had defied the odds in South Africa to reach the final and set a title clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals. The high-intensity game had its moments which kept the fans glued to their seats. But, what no one would ever forget will be the last over of the game.

Pakistan, who were chasing 158 to win, had simmered down the equation to 13 runs from the last six balls. With the dangerous Misbah ul Haq at the crease, every Indian was left in quizzing whether who would bowl the last and the most important over of the match. Dhoni kept his cool chose went ahead with the least likeliest candidate to bowl the last over – Joginder Sharma.

The Haryana fast bowler had an international experience of only 4 ODIs and 3 T20Is before this game and many felt that this decision to make him bowl ahead of lead spinner Harbhajan Singh was absurd. However, lady luck was on India’s side and Misbah scooped one into the hands of the deep fine leg fielder as India won the game by 5 runs. This surprise move backed by gut instinct was the first of the many more out of box decisions which Dhoni made during his captaincy career.

Also read – Joginder Sharma – From India’s World T20 hero to DSP