Laxman Pays Tribute To Dhoni, Says Wicket-keeper batsman's Composure Under Pressure Cooker Situations Was His Biggest Strength

"Blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not a matter of life and death, @msdhoni's calling card was composure, especially under pressure", tweeted Laxman

MS Dhoni

Former India batsman VVS Laxman on Tuesday paid a heartfelt tribute to India's World Cup winning skipper MS Dhoni, stating that the iconic wicket-keeper batsman's calling card has always been his calm and composure demeanor under pressure-cooker situations while doning the Indian jersey. As part of his ongoing efforts to pay tributes to his former Indian teammates who influenced him immensely, Laxman lauded Dhoni by sharing a famous pic of him posing with the 2007 ICC World T20 Cup, India's maiden T20 win which catapulted him to instant success in the international arena. The 2007 World T20 triumph catalysed the stirring captaincy saga of a leader who talked through his deeds," Laxman tweeted. Laxman hailed Dhoni's much famed mental grit and ice cool temperament to soak in the pressure situations by tweeting "Blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not a matter of life and death, @msdhoni's calling card was composure, especially under pressure.

Blessed with the rare equanimity of viewing cricket as a sport and not a matter of life and death, @msdhoni’s calling card was composure, especially under pressure. The 2007 World T20 triumph catalysed the stirring captaincy saga of a leader who talked through his deeds. pic.twitter.com/N2LukWwD3f

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) June 9, 2020

Dhoni, who made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, did not have the best possible start to his international career as he scored just 19 runs in the three-match series.But the wicket-keeper truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 as he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam. Dhoni is widely regarded as India's most successful captain having won all the three major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy). Under his leadership, India also managed to reach the number one ranking in Test cricket. In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game and was replaced by Wriddhiman Saha as the frontline keeper in the longer format of the game.Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format. However, the wicket-keeper enjoys a great camaraderie with Kohli and the duo often have been seen taking decisions together. Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.