How MS Dhoni Began The Tradition Of Handing Trophy To Junior Most Player In Indian Squad

It began the moment Mahendra Singh Dhoni was handed the ICC World Twenty20 2007 title trophy after India had defeated Pakistan in a nail-biting thriller by 5 runs. The Indian captain had wasted no time to hand the same to the rest of his excited teammates, while himself subtly slipping somewhere towards the backdrop as the squad posed together before the piece of lenses.

Jump some six months later, and Dhoni-led team India had defeated the mighty Aussies in their own den. It was the Commonwealth Bank Series 2007/08 title triumph, and the then 26-year-old was yet again at the podium to receive another prestigious title with a young Indian team.

Taking the centrestage for some few seconds, the wicket-keeper batter quickly gestured the rest of his mates to scamper through to the dais to collectively have their hands on the trophy.

MS Dhoni Began The Tradition Of Handing Trophy To Junior Most Player In Indian Squad

As if he had come up with this unwritten rule, the skipper would yet again happily take a sidestep and let the squad members enjoy the limelight. However, the over-excited players were a bit hesitant as to who should be posing with the trophy in the centre if not their captain.

It is at this point that the ‘Captain Cool’ intervened and yelled, “Sabse chota kaun hai? [Who is the youngest?]”. It was the 19-year-old leg spinner Piyush Chawla who would turn up and have the trophy held high, as the rest of them would soon overwhelmed him in their well-earned greed to have a feel of the same.

MS Dhoni Reveals Why His Teammates Always Take Centrestage

Be it for team India or for his Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni would make sure it is always the junior-most player in the squad who has his hands on the trophy for the photograph session.

While the gesture not only drives the point home that cricket is a team sport won by the direct and indirect contributions of all the squad members, but also provides the individual concerned with a sense of belongingness.

After CSK lifted their third IPL title under him in 2018, the legendary skipper would open up on the reason for the lovely gesture. He would remark that as a skipper he has already had those 15 extra seconds of overexposure with the trophy, and it is a bit unfair for the captain to cling on to the same for long.

Be it Virat Kohli, or presently Rohit Sharma, team India captains have made sure that this beautiful tradition is adhered to each time there’s a series victory or a title triumph.