Kindle Notes & Highlights
His ability to stay positive came from the firm conviction that merit and performance would lead to higher things.
‘I believed in performance. I never picked up the newspapers to see if I was picked for the Duleep Trophy or Deodhar Trophy matches for East Zone. For me, it was more about playing cricket, enjoying cricket. I knew if I’m good enough I’ll get a chance and for that I have to be consistent. In my mind I was very clear that if they don’t give me a chance for Duleep or Deodhar Trophy, it doesn’t really matter–I’m happy playing for my state. If I can play consistently well for my state, that’s good enough for me because I love playing cricket more than anything else.’ (Cricinfo, 28 March 2008).
‘Character’, ‘courage’ and ‘ability’ were the words Dravid used in describing Dhoni, and he couldn’t have said it better.
‘He’s quiet and is aware of his presence–one who is silent, yet strong. When he speaks, it’s worth listening to. He speaks his mind. There’s an honesty about him that’s appealing. There’s no false modesty there. His self-belief is strong.’ (Cricinfo
‘It does sound flattering, but GE Money told us their only two celebrities worldwide are Roger Federer and Dhoni,’ said Banerjee.
‘People have been talking about Sachin for all the years I’ve played. But one should be careful when one writes about him. He has scored 16,000 runs; I haven’t even played 16,000 balls,’ Dhoni told the press at the end of the Adelaide match. And once again, he was spot-on.
‘The role of the captain was not the only one. The captain is one guy, who gathers the pressure and then channels it to the individual player, and then it depends on how that individual reacts,’
‘A victory is like winning a million verbal duels. I knew we would win, hence I refrained from reacting. I knew we would give it back at an appropriate time.’
There was an interesting comment from Sourav Ganguly who obviously saw something of his maverick self in the new Test captain: ‘We in India make the mistake of thinking that only good boys make good captains.’
‘Why do you always want to compare things?’ the winning captain asked with a touch of irritation in his voice when asked how this win ranked with the team’s achievements abroad over the last eight years, a period in which India had won at least one Test match in every Test playing nation apart from New Zealand.
‘Dhoni’s Finishing Act, the Magic and the Math’, Dwivedi explained Dhoni’s ‘agenda in tight games is to be alive till the final over for that all-or-nothing face-off with the death bowler. It isn’t so much a gamble as a dare.’
‘I love the challenge and the pressure. They have always pushed me to do well. . . .Pressure to me is just added responsibility. . .It’s not pressure when God gives you an opportunity to be a hero for your team and country.’
