Lessons Handed Down From The Best ODI Captains

Apart from being an adventurous sport, cricket has handed down some valuable life lessons. Besides sportsmanship, coordination, and leadership, cricket has taught us some real-life lessons that are important on and off the field. The best sportsman in our country is living proof of how one should be humble and daring to become a superhero in the general public's eyes. Be it Jhulan Goswami or Shardul Thakur or the Gods of Indian cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, the secret of their success lies in their personality. 

Whether you play fantasy cricket online or gully cricket, there are some lessons that cricket teaches you in the best way possible. Here are the lessons you should learn from the best ODI Captains. 

Being Humble Is a Virtue 

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going" is the mantra of most of the ODI captains. For captains like Dhoni and Virat Kohli, life has never been easy. While the former had to fight with his family to achieve his dream, the latter had to bottle his emotions on a devastating day and go on a journey to chase his dreams. But one thing that is common in both of them is their humble and down-to-earth personality. Neither of them has forgotten their roots and has successfully achieved their dreams.  

Someone also backs a self-made star, and in some way, it is important to be grateful to the people around you and appreciate their support and assistance. Be it in the field of real life, a humble person is loved and admired by all. 

Don't Restrict Yourself  

Life is all about taking on new challenges and experimenting to get better. Stepping out of your comfort zone makes you a better and confident person in life. One of the most valuable lessons that one can take from the best ODI captains is stepping out of your comfort zone and doing the undoable. While the world is in a rat race and everybody dreams of securing a good job and living a stress-free life, the ODI captains teach you to chase your dreams and prioritize satisfaction over everything else. Being passionate about what you do is the key to a better life. 

Most of the ODI captains are dedicated sports persons and practice a minimum of five hours every day. As for "Captain Cool", Dhoni chose to take risks and prioritize his passion for the game and become the greatest captain of the Indian cricket team. 

Calmness Is The Key To Success 

Keeping your head held high while you are losing is a tough job, and not everyone can do it. While failures are an inevitable part of your life, being calm during the storm is something you should excel in. You will come across certain circumstances where everything will fall apart, like a house of cards. Still, your resilience and perseverance at the time of distress will determine your position in the future. Moreover, panicking in difficult situations worsens your problems and adds to your anxiety. It will be wise to stay calm and handle the situation tactfully and strategically. 

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Many times during matches, you might have encountered some instances where your favourite team has to score 15 runs in six balls. While it might seem difficult a calm captain has the ability to stand up and handle the situation. Calmness combined with a perfect strategy always yields better results. Being composed till the end of the game is what one should learn from the best captains. Moreover, being overwhelmed with failure or success isn't the sign of a great person; the secret to being a better person is being composed at the time of failure and humble in your success. 

Fail Again, Fail Better 

Ricky Ponting must have missed a thousand balls before he learned to hit a perfect six. Sourav Ganguly must have swung his bat incorrectly before he found the perfect angle to hit a cover drive. Harbhajan Singh might not have been a good bowler before he became one of the most intimidating off-spinners in the history of cricket. All of them are examples of failure and success. One common thing between them is their determination to fail again and rise. Failures are an inevitable part of the journey called life. However, it is up to you whether you want to convert this failure into a lesson or you want to give up on your dreams. 

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Imagine if Malinga had given up after a few futile tries of bowling. Would Sri Lanka be blessed with an amazing bowler? On the other hand, if Rashid Khan had left his dream, would Afghanistan have such an eminent leg-spinner? The key to success is to embrace failure like an old friend and learn from him to get better. 

Work On Yourself 

Rather than basking about the inadequacies in your life, you should concentrate on getting better at what you do. The key to success is constant improvement, identifying your weaknesses, and overpowering them. It would help if you prioritized upskilling yourself and getting better at what you do. Complaining about trivial things won't help you get better and drag your performance graph downwards.  

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Moreover, if you are working in an organization or any field where you are working in a team, you should always prioritize others before yourself. The urge to always be in the limelight is the sign of a weak person who needs constant attention. One should try to recognize collective efforts and appreciate the people around them. This will motivate the people around you to work with you, give their best, and learn from you. 

Conclusion 

These are some of the most valuable lessons that one can learn from the best ODI captains. There are many things that one should learn from the people whom they consider their role models. Indeed, cricket is the best game to learn the important lessons of life. Happy learning and playing!