It is a well-known fact that Sachin Tendulkar recommended MS Dhoni for the captaincy of the Indian cricket team.
In 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) offered Tendulkar the captaincy, but he declined due to health issues. The batting maestro recommended MS Dhoni for the captaincy, noting his calm demeanor and decisive nature.
Tendulkar said, “The real reason for turning down captaincy was that my body was giving me a lot of trouble and I remember having that meeting with Mr. Pawar (Sharad) in England, it was before The Oval match and he said ‘according to me you should take the leadership role’. I said sir my leadership role as a player will always be there, only the captain tag won’t be there in front of me but whatever in my capacity till I hang up my boots, I will always give my 100% for the country. I’m going to suggest you a name who I feel has a good cricketing brain. Because I used to interact quite a bit with MS Dhoni, I would field in the slips and that’s how this happened and the rest is history.”
When Sachin Tendulkar recommended Dhoni’s name instead on being offered captaincy
— Rohit Raina (@RohittRaina) July 15, 2024
Dhoni became one of the most successful captains in Indian cricket history, leading India to the T20 World Cup title in 2007, the ODI World Cup title in 2011, and the Champions Trophy title in 2013. He also guided India to the top of the Test cricket rankings.