Former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan revealed that when World Cup winner former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni started his captaincy tenure in 2007, he preferred to control his bowlers but by 2013 he started trusting them. During this period he also became a very quiet leader. Pathan was part of the 2007 World Cup winning team and the 2013 Champions Trophy winning team and played under Dhoni's captaincy. The 35-year-old player said that as time passed Dhoni changed as a captain in many ways. Pathan was asked about the changes between 2007 and 2013 as Dhoni's captain on Star Sports' Cricket Connected show, he said, "This was the first time in 2007 and when you were given the big responsibility of leading the team. If you go, you get a little excited, you can understand it."
He said, "Although the team meetings were always short-lived, in 2007 as well as in 2013 during the Champions Trophy. Just a five-minute meeting." When asked about a change in Dhoni, this fast bowler, who announced his retirement from all formats of cricket earlier this year, said, "In 2007 he got excited and bowled from wicketkeeping. He ran to the end and tried to control the bowlers as well but in 2013 he allowed the bowlers to control themselves. He became very calm."
Dhoni has not played any cricket since the Indian team was eliminated from the semi-finals in the ODI World Cup last year. He led the country's limited overs team from 2007 to 2016 and captained Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. The 38-year-old player is the only captain to have won all ICC trophies. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 World T20 Cup, 2010 and 2016 Asia Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. Pathan said that by 2013, Dhoni had started putting spinners in difficult situations to win the match. He said, "Between 2007 and 2013, he gained experience relying on his slow bowlers and spinners and by the time the Champions Trophy came, he was very clear that he would have to put his spinners in order to win the match at crucial times."
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