Legendary Indian player and former skipper is known for standing up with his team and teammates in every difficult situation. Reciting one such incidence, former Indian cricket team coach Gary Kirsten told in an interview that just before the 2011 World Cup when Dhoni had cancelled a team trip to a flight school because they said a day before the scheduled visit that the South Africans in the team’s coaching staff would not be allowed entry.
“One of the most impressive people I have met, he is a great leader of people, he’s got incredible presence as a leader, but the most important thing is that he is loyal,” Kirsten said.
“I’ll never forget, just before the World Cup, we were invited in Bangalore to go to the flight school, to go and kind of have a look at that. Obviously, we had a couple of foreigners in our support staff, and we got word back on the morning before the whole team was meant to go – and everyone was looking forward to the event – that the three South Africans, which were myself, Paddy Upton and Eric Simmons, weren’t going to be allowed into the flight school because it was seen as a potential security risk,” he said.
“So MS cancelled the whole event. He just said, ‘These are my people. If they’re not allowed in, none of us are going’. And that was what he was about,” Kirsten said.
Kirsten said Dhoni had gained credibility with the senior players after winning the T20 World Cup, and that the team spirit in the dressing room allowed him to focus on building a ‘long-term partnership’ with the then-27-year-old captain.