<p>“Mahi had this Midas touch during his school days also. It was due to his tremendous on-field and off-field effort, that our team won the inter-school championship for six years in a row,” says Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, the sports instructor of Jawahar Vidhya Mandir in Ranchi.<br /><br />“When he led the school team in 12th standard, I got a hint that he will one day become the India captain,” Banerjee, who forced Mahi to shift his allegiance from football to cricket, said.<br /><br />Despite missing out on tours with India’s under-19 and A teams due to illness, Dhoni, the coach reveals, never gave up hope.<br /><br />“In 2000-01, he was selected in India’s under-19 and A team, but he had fractured his wrist and was also suffering from jaundice. He withdrew his name and Ajay Ratra got selected. When I asked him why did you let this chance go, his reply was ‘don’t worry sir, I will be in the senior team in the next three years’, and that happened,” Banerjee says.<br />What impressed the coach was Dhoni’s calm and cool attitude during his time as captain of the school team.<br /><br />Not scared<br /><br />“He neither got scared of any challenge nor did he lost his temper at anytime. Whenever we lost a match, he would console me that we will win the next one. He was captain cool from the beginning of his career.”<br /><br />The coach also refused to attribute Dhoni’s envious record to luck.<br />“He used to play soccer in 6th standard. I was looking for a wicketkeeper for a school team and, after watching his excellent goalkeeping skills, I asked him to play cricket. He decided to change over then but it wasn’t easy at the start.<br /><br />“He worked hard to learn the game and waited for 18 months to get a place in the school team. That says a lot about his patience and dedication,” Banerjee says.<br /><br />“He used to practice hard after classes. There was just one condition from his family that he should get decent marks, and Mahi never failed in that respect.”</p>
<p>“Mahi had this Midas touch during his school days also. It was due to his tremendous on-field and off-field effort, that our team won the inter-school championship for six years in a row,” says Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, the sports instructor of Jawahar Vidhya Mandir in Ranchi.<br /><br />“When he led the school team in 12th standard, I got a hint that he will one day become the India captain,” Banerjee, who forced Mahi to shift his allegiance from football to cricket, said.<br /><br />Despite missing out on tours with India’s under-19 and A teams due to illness, Dhoni, the coach reveals, never gave up hope.<br /><br />“In 2000-01, he was selected in India’s under-19 and A team, but he had fractured his wrist and was also suffering from jaundice. He withdrew his name and Ajay Ratra got selected. When I asked him why did you let this chance go, his reply was ‘don’t worry sir, I will be in the senior team in the next three years’, and that happened,” Banerjee says.<br />What impressed the coach was Dhoni’s calm and cool attitude during his time as captain of the school team.<br /><br />Not scared<br /><br />“He neither got scared of any challenge nor did he lost his temper at anytime. Whenever we lost a match, he would console me that we will win the next one. He was captain cool from the beginning of his career.”<br /><br />The coach also refused to attribute Dhoni’s envious record to luck.<br />“He used to play soccer in 6th standard. I was looking for a wicketkeeper for a school team and, after watching his excellent goalkeeping skills, I asked him to play cricket. He decided to change over then but it wasn’t easy at the start.<br /><br />“He worked hard to learn the game and waited for 18 months to get a place in the school team. That says a lot about his patience and dedication,” Banerjee says.<br /><br />“He used to practice hard after classes. There was just one condition from his family that he should get decent marks, and Mahi never failed in that respect.”</p>