As I write this, M.S Dhoni will be leading the Indian Cricket team yet again after a long gap of 696 days. Though this is going to be a one-day affair and we can call it destiny or an obvious choice considering the circumstances, cricket fans and especially his fan army will be thrilled to see “The most successful captain” operate yet again. He is set to play his 200th ODI as Captain against Afganistan in the ongoing Asia Cup.

I want to make this post as short as possible as I am not going to sit back and write much rather than experiencing the moment.

Well, there is a lot to learn from MSD thought process. He is someone who has believed in not holding the trophy for long and hiding behind the other players after the celebration moment has started. This is something he claims to be the motivating factor to look ahead and chase more success and glory for the national side.

When he was an amateur captain, he was very lucky so to say in having got the best of support system squad – Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, and VVS. He learnt a lot from them and they were humble enough to respect Dhoni as their captain without any ego clashes or inner politics being triggered like the ones which took place when Sachin was named the captain even when a lot of senior players were there and Mohammad Azharuddin was seen to be the leader.

Dhoni is the brain of this side and cannot be kept quiet or left out. Virat, even now, goes up to him to seek his advice for most of the decisions. Though we don’t claim, dual captaincy exists. His presence of mind and street smart thinking has helped him and the team to confuse the opposition very well.

Let’s go back in time and relive his Top 10 captaincy moments…

1. Dhoni was named the captain of the Indian squad for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007. India was crowned champions as Dhoni led the team to victory against Pakistan in a thrilling contest.

2. He went on to become the ODI captain of the Indian team for the seven-match ODI series against Australia in September 2007.

3. He made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final Test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008, replacing Anil Kumble who was injured in the third test and who then announced his retirement. Dhoni was vice-captain in this series up to that point.

4. It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in December 2009.

5.  After winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final against Sri Lanka on 2 April 2011, with his match-winning knock of unbeaten 91, Tendulkar heaped praises on Dhoni, claiming him to be the best captain he has played under.

6. In March 2013, Dhoni became the most successful Indian Test captain when he eclipsed Sourav Ganguly’s record of 21 victories from 49 Tests.

7. Dhoni’s final game as the Indian limited-overs captain was on 10 January 2017, in a warm-up game between England and India during the limited-overs leg of England’s tour of India. Dhoni stated he will still fulfill his duties as the captain in various domestic teams.

8. Dhoni is the only captain to win all three major ICC limited-over tournaments. Under the leadership of Dhoni, India won the 2007 World T20, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

9. Dhoni won 110 ODI matches as a captain, which is the second most by any player. Ponting is at the first place in the list by winning 165 ODIs. The next best after Dhoni for India in the list is Mohammad Azharuddin, who won 90 ODIs as a captain during his career.

10. MS Dhoni scored 6,633 runs as a captain in ODIs, which is the second most by any captain after Ponting’s 8,497 runs. His average of 53.92 in ODIs as a captain is also the second highest for any captain who has scored at least 1,000 runs in ODIs till date. AB de Villiers is at first place in the table by scoring 4,219 runs from 87 ODIs as a captain, with an average of 65.92.

This game played today will be an unofficial farewell to our most beloved captain of all times and his calmness with which he can handle the worst of the pressure situations will always be admired.

A lot more to write but maybe on his retirement day. Leave everything you are possibly doing and go watch the magic unveil.