The International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to leave it to the fans to pick their favourite captain of the decade. Fans on their part made it clear —Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The veteran Indian wicketkeeper, who retired from Test cricket in 2014 and relinquished captaincy in limited overs cricket in 2017, has remained the undisputed leader of his IPL side Chennai Super Kings.
“Fav Captain Fav WK Fav player One man @msdhoni !” said one fan. “MS DHONI all the way....The best ever Indian captain and one of the best in world cricket...” said another.
The two ICC trophies that India won in the decade came under Dhoni’s captaincy. In 2011, he led India to its first-ever World Cup triumph since 1983 and in 2013, skippered the Champions Trophy-winning squad.
“If he had been made captain for time-being for WC2019, we could have won it for 3 time,” said one fan.
Dhoni also found some support from across the border. “MS Dhoni #Love and #respect from Pakistan,” said a fan.
Some said that Dhoni should be the best captain for ODIs, Rohit Sharma for T20Is and Virat Kohli for Tests.
There was one fan who tweeted an image of former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and current captain Kane Williamson in Test whites “These two. Both v different in their approaches but tactically v smart,” the fan said.