VVS Laxman on Tuesday paid tribute to former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, saying the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman was blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not as a matter of life and death.
“Blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not a matter of life and death, MS Dhoni”s calling card was composure, especially under pressure,” Laxman said in a tweet.
“The 2007 World T20 triumph catalysed the stirring captaincy saga of a leader who talked through his deeds,” he added.
Under Dhoni”s leadership, India won the inaugural World T20 edition in 2007, wherein they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in a pulsating finale at the Wanderers.
It was under his captaincy only that the Men in Blue could end their 28-year drought for the 50-over World Cup silverware as they won the 2011 edition of the prestigious quadrennial event by defeating Sri Lanka at the Wankhede.
In 2013, Dhoni also led India to the elusive Champions Trophy title in England.
During the 2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Dhoni announced that he was stepping down from Test captaincy and retiring from Test cricket after representing India in 90 matches in the longest format of the game.
In January 2017, he stepped down as the captain of the Indian ODI and T20I team and passed on the baton to Virat Kohli, who now leads the side in all the three formats of the game.
The 38-year-old has so far played 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is in which he has scored 10,773 and 1,617 runs respectively. His last appearance came at the 2019 World Cup semifinal where India lost to New Zealand.
He was slated to lead Chennai Super Kings in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League which currently stands indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
