Making Rohit Sharma opener, promoting himself in 2011 WC final:Revisiting MS Dhoni’s 7 genius decisions on his 45th birthday

It’s the 7th of July, and there aren’t many cricketers who have had a more iconic connection than MS Dhoni and the number 7. One of Indian cricket’s greatest captains and legends, Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 45 today. Born in Ranchi in 1981, Dhoni went on to own the big stage and dominate world cricket with the captain’s hat and from behind the stumps. On his 45th day, let’s take a look at seven of Dhoni’s decisions that went on to shape the future of Indian cricket. 1) Handing the ball to Joginder Sharma in the 2007 T20 World Cup final One of the most impactful decisions that Dhoni made very early in his career came in a high-pressure India vs Pakistan match, that too in the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Batting first, India had set a 158-run target for Pakistan. And the match went right down to the last over when Pakistan required 13 runs to win, with a well-set Misbah-ul-Haq at the crease. Dhoni had Harbhajan Singh at his disposal to bowl the last over, and with all his experience, he might have been the natural choice. But Dhoni instead gave the ball to Joginder Sharma. It did seem a leap of faith at that time, and Joginder repaid the trust. He successfully defended 13 runs, dismissing Misbah in the final over to seal for India a historic win. This was Dhoni’s first ICC title as captain and the start of a wonderful chapter in Indian cricket. 2) Promoting himself above Yuvraj in the 2011 World Cup final This will go down as probably one of the biggest game-changing decisions in the history of Indian cricket. Once again it was in a final and this time, it was the 2011 ODI World Cup at a packed Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against a resilient Sri Lanka outfit. Chasing 275 to win, India were 114/3 when Virat Kohli was dismissed and Yuvraj Singh was to come in at number five. Yuvraj had the tournament of his life, contributing with both bat and ball and it was indeed a very bold decision by Dhoni to promote himself up the order and bat at five that night. And it turned out to be a masterstroke. Up until the final, Dhoni had a poor run in the tournament with just 150 runs in seven innings and his promotion was a bit audacious, given that the in-form Yuvraj was being demoted. And what followed was history. Dhoni had a 109-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir. He scored an unbeaten 91* and also hit the iconic winning six that helped India win the World Cup after 28 years. 3) Promoting Rohit Sharma as an opener Another one of Dhoni’s genius decisions came in the form of promoting Rohit Sharma as an opener. Before opening the innings, Rohit was a middle-order batter and did not have that big of an impact, something he went on to later make at the top of the order. Rohit was promoted to open the innings for India at the 2013 Champions Trophy. That decision turned out to be a masterstroke, both for Rohit and Team India. India went on to win the tournament, and Rohit would go on to become one of the best openers across formats. Recently, Rohit also became the second Indian batter to score 16000 runs in international cricket as an opener. That move changed the course of Rohit’s career, and his performances soon earned him the nickname ‘Hitman.’ 4) Backing Virat Kohli for captaincy The work of a leader is not only to lead his team but also to ensure that there’s an able successor who is ready to take his spot when he steps aside. Dhoni did exactly that with Virat Kohli, grooming him to take up India’s captaincy, gradually across formats. The legendary wicketkeeper-batter retired from Tests midway during India’s tour of Australia, and Kohli was immediately made the next captain. The full captaincy transition of captaincy came when he gave up captaincy in ODIs and T20Is in 2017, making way for Kohli to take over. Kohli, in an interview later on, revealed that Dhoni chose him to be India’s next captain after him. Under Kohli, Team India became one of the fiercest sides in Test cricket, winning matches abroad, especially the historic triumph in 2018-19. 5) Repeating 2007 Joginder Sharma call, this time with Ishant One of the most memorable decisions that Dhoni made was once again in a final, this time in the 2013 Champions Trophy. Chasing 130, England needed 28 runs to win off 18 balls, and Ishant was brought on to bowl the 18th over. Up until that point, had been expensive (0/27 in 3 overs) in a low-scoring match. And just like Joginder Sharma, Ishant repaid Dhoni’s faith. After being hit for a six off the second ball of the over, Ishant went on to dismiss both set batters- Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara off consecutive deliveries to turn the match. India eventually won the match by five runs and Dhoni became the first captain to win all ICC trophies. 6) Promoting Cheteshwar Pujara at number three in Tests Cheteshwar Pujara will always be remembered as one of India’s finest Test players and most dependable batters at number three. It was Dhoni who promoted Pujara to bat at number three in his debut Test. In his first innings in Test cricket, Pujara batted at number five and was out for just four runs off three balls. In the second innings, Dhoni sent Pujara to bat at three instead of the legendary Rahul Dravid. That decision was arguably a masterstroke. Pujara went on to score 72 runs off 89 balls, helping India chase down a 207-run target in Bengaluru. Pujara would go on to become Dravid’s long-term replacement at number three and one of the best Test batters in this generation. 7 ) Forming the Ashwin-Jadeja duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja both debuted under Dhoni’s captaincy and they went on to become two of India’s most reliable all-rounders across formats. Dhoni backed the two spin-bowling all-rounders right from the initial phase of their careers. Under Dhoni, both Ashwin and Jadeja went on to become integral parts of India in all formats. One of the main reasons India were not beaten at home in a Test series since 2012 was because of the all-round role that both Jadeja and Ashwin played. In 2024, that unbeaten run came to an end when New Zealand whitewashed India 0-3. The Dhoni-Jadeja bond continued beyond Team India, with the two playing for Chennai Super Kings together as well. With Dhoni’s constant backing, Jadeja became a force to be reckoned with. Dhoni also referred to him as ‘Sir Jadeja’ at one stage.