MS Dhoni

His bustling confidence, youthful energy, growing maturity and happening presence have won the down-to-earth Indian captain a number of accolades besides Tests and one-day internationals, including the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 and the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011. MS Dhoni has earned plaudits for having emerged from the so-called back of beyond and displaying an uncommon ability to stay calm even in times of stress. Nothing seems to shake his self-belief and that is the best thing about him.

Dhoni realised very early that leading India would rate as one of the most challenging jobs in world cricket. It will be fair to say that captaincy has sat well on his shoulders as he picked a leaf out of Sourav Ganguly’s school of leadership and evolved his own ways of backing his team-mates and yet demanded optimum efforts from each one of them. To be sure, his captaincy has come under a cloud during the ICC World Twenty20 in England and when the team lost eight Tests in England and Australia. He brings a native sense of humour that helps him in the teeth of the storms and the stresses that go with the job.

He not only is India’s most successful captain but also wicketkeeper-batsman, leading both the run tally and the number of victims in all formats. His batting is based on startling reflexes and wrists of supple steel that defy coaching-book proprieties. In limited-over cricket, Dhoni has borne the cross of marshalling the resources in the latter half of the innings in one-day cricket, showcasing his mature approach to keeping India's innings together.