Indian captain MS Dhoni batting during the third day of the second Test match against Australia in Hyderabad on Monday. With 22 Test wins out of 45, Dhoni has established an Indian record for most Test wins as captain, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly’s tally of 21 victories in 49 Tests.
Hyderabad: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels winning most matches as an Indian Test captain is a collective effort and said the credit should go to all the team members.
Dhoni surpassed Sourav Ganguly as the most successful Indian Test captain with 22 wins after India won the second cricket Test against Australia by an innings and 135 runs here yesterday. India now have a 2-0 lead in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
“Credit goes to the team and the support staff. And winning most matches as captain is a collective effort, and credit goes to each and everyone. We have gone through a period we haven’t won many games,” said Dhoni.
Meanwhile, Ganguly hoped that the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman would be able to carry his successful showing in the coming foreign engagements in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia in the next two years.
“Dhoni’s record is praiseworthy. Twenty-two Test wins is not a small achievement. And the success against Australia has come against the backdrop of the not-so-good times he went through in the last two years,” said Ganguly.
However, he linked the stints of former captains as also that of Dhoni to a relay race where each skipper carried the baton forward.
“At various times in cricket you will see different captains. In recent years, India has seen captains like (Mohammed) Azharuddin, Sachin (Tendulkar), Sourav (Ganguly), (Rahul) Dravid, Dhoni. In the cricket relay race, each has carried the baton forward. “But I must say that Dhoni’s achievement is a good piece of news for Indian cricket. I hope this will take Indian cricket forward,” said Ganguly.
However, he agreed that number of wins or success on home soil could not be the only criteria for judging the greatness of a captain.
“I don’t think this is right. During the last 25 years, India has seldom been in trouble on home soil. To judge a captain one should take into account his record on foreign grounds.”IANS
