'It's not about the captain alone' - Dhoni

Four years ago few would have imagined Jharkhand producing an international cricketer, fewer still would have expected the region to be the home of India's next superstar, and almost nobody would have thought the state would turn out an India captain.

It is from such cricketing backwaters that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has emerged and, on a day when he was appointed captain for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa, he remembered where it all began. "I am like a brand ambassador for the people of Jharkhand. It's a small state where the infrastructure isn't great for cricket. Five years ago nobody would have ever thought that someone from this state would play for India. Now, if I look back I'm excited for the job."

A maiden tour of England has not been the best for him, especially behind the stumps, but the typical Dhoni confidence - "It wasn't a surprise, there was a lot of talk about it" - refused to leave him. He says little when uncertain and keeps his answers crisp and to the point. A smile is thrown in liberally, especially when he spots a tricky question. Such certitude will no doubt help him as a leader. "It's not about the captain alone," he said. "Whether my decisions are successful or not depends on another player. If I promote someone to bat at No. 3, I'm only the person who takes the decision. If that player performs it's a good decision, if he doesn't it's a bad decision."

If his batting is unconventional, his press conferences are not far behind. Which captain has he learnt the most from? Spotting the googly, he smiled, "No comment". What are the main aspects of captaincy he has learnt from Rahul Dravid? "Being cool and calm. I can't discuss everything here." Another grin.

No clichés, either, when Dhoni was asked if the captaincy was something he'd always aspired to. "Not really. I always wanted to play good aggressive cricket and do well for my country. I think it's not about leading, it is about playing and doing well."

Dhoni, who has hardly led sides in domestic cricket, will lead a relatively young side in South Africa but, going by his body language, no challenge is too daunting. "It doesn't really matter," he said. "I never had the experience of playing at the international level when I played my first match. These are things you see and learn from the senior players - the challenges that they are facing in a match. If you are open-minded you can learn a lot from them, from the senior guys, from the captains and from the very successful captains in international cricket."

What does he make of India's lack of Twenty20 awareness? They have played but the one match and the inaugural domestic Twenty20 championships received a lukewarm response. "It's not about too much. We've played played only one match, not even two" he laughed. "It is challenging. The good thing is that we had a domestic Twenty20 tournament in India this year. The players have done very well. It's more about the individuals who will come out and give their best at the international level.

"At the time we played Twenty20 cricket in India, the wickets were quite flat. We'll find the conditions in South Africa very, very different. It's just the start of the season so it will do a bit. It won't be as easy, there will be different challenges on the way. Maybe sometimes you need to plan and adapt."

Does he think he is equipped for the challenge? "Until I go on to the field and until I captain the side, I can say that I'm well prepared. But the challenge is to take the right decision at the right time. Sometimes you are the captain for five or ten matches but you don't really have perfect situations. One decision matters for the game and that will tell me if I'm prepared or not."

Another smile, another slow ball lofted to the stands.