Mahendra Singh Dhoni is less than three full years old as an international cricketer. Already, he is the captain of the national Twenty20 squad, and there is every possibility that he could be named the skipper of the one-day side following the resignation of Rahul Dravid from the Indian captaincy.
The Jharkhand stumper's captaincy experience at the top level has been limited to one innings against the English Lions in England last month, and two outings, against Pakistan and New Zealand, in this competition. It is too early to form an opinion as regards his captaincy acumen. Dhoni has, on the evidence of what has transpired here, been quick on his feet, though he has missed the odd trick or two as well.
That is only understandable, given even vastly more experienced cricketers take their time settling into the job. There is a general impression that, being the most involved fielder on the park, a wicket-keeper can do without being saddled with the additional burden of captaincy. Former South African coach Ray Jennings, with a mind of his own and unafraid to speak it, dismisses that theory.
Quite obviously, the one-time Protean coach hasn't seen too much of Dhoni the captain, but whatever he has seen has impressed him.
"Dhoni was very good towards the end in the match against Pakistan, otherwise it was a game Pakistan should have won. He slowed down the game, captained at his own pace, put a lot of thought behind his moves, and made the right changes at the right time," Jennings said.
"Tactically, he is good and knows the game well. He can captain the side. He is a focused cricketer, though he is not totally neat with his glovework. My feeling is that he thinks of himself as more of a batsman than a wicket-keeper," he added,  currentlying coach of the South African under-19 team as well as the National Cricket Academy.
Warming to the theme of a 'keeper-captain, Jennings went on, "The wicket-keeper is the most knowledgeable player in the team, and is in the best position to get a feel of the flow of the game. He's the team's second coach, he watches every ball closely. If the captain does not use his wicket-keeper's advice, he would be stupid."
The attributes that, according to him, make a good captain? "On the field, he must be a fighter, he must know the game and be able to make tactical decisions. Off it, most crucially, he should be able to keep his team together."