Mahendra Singh Dhoni might not have driven his 1400cc bike of late - but his life is certainly moving on a fast lane. He was appointed India's cricket captain for the ultra-shortened version of the game and that was probably the first time the selectors were seriously looking at him as an option. But make no mistake, no-one was ready to give him the captaincy for ODIs or Tests so early.

However, destiny was round the corner in the shape of a yorker from Rahul Dravid. A man known for his sedate moves on and off the field, he surprised the entire cricket fraternity by stating that captaining India is like wearing a crown of thorns. Dhoni was elevated, at least for the ODIs and then to Twenty20 glory.

Any cricketer would have felt the pressure but Dhoni accepted the challenge gleefully. Every match in South Africa we saw a great decision maker, an aggressive captain, a guy who got players to stand up and be counted when the opposition was charging.

'Dhoni is a disciplined, quiet man who has the passion and aggression to lead the side'

This style reminded me of previous captains Kapil Dev, who brought us the World Cup in 1983, and Sourav Ganguly, who was mostly responsible for bringing on the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh.

Dhoni was the ideal choice, especially after Sachin Tendulkar’s reported apprehensions about the ODI job. Going for Ganguly would have been a back-seat option. Another reason why Sachin wasn’t given the job was the potential problem of how many ODIs he had left in him. So, all in all, choosing Dhoni was the best move and the way he captained the side in South Africa justified the faith shown in him by the selectors.

If there’s one thing that goes against Dhoni, it's history. Never has a wicketkeeper been a success story as far as captaincy is concerned. From West Indian Jerry Alexander to Sri Lanka’s Kumara Sangakkara, along with Andy Flower, Alec Stewart, Lee Germon, Moin Khan, none managed to combine the two crucial roles successfully.