Mahendra Singh Dhoni

The decision to confer the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honour on MS Dhoni is, in a way, a perfect personification of the rise of India's ODI and T20 captain.

Ever since Dhoni made his international debut in 2004, he has risen rapidly to become one of India's key players in all forms of the game and is also considered a role model by many Indian youngsters.

But, as much as Dhoni deserves all the recognition, a few feel that the jury has jumped the gun. After all, his international career has not even completed four years and he is already the second cricketer to win the award after Sachin Tendulkar.

And even the batting great was given the honour after eight years of top-level cricket.

'Fantastic'

But Kiran More, whose selection committee picked Dhoni, believes the 27-year-old deserves the award.

"I think it's an absolutely fantastic achievement considering that he has done it in such a short time. And he completely deserves it. He captained India to the World T20 title and even in the ODIs, his captaincy and the ability to lead an inexperienced side to success is commendable. He has done a lot for Indian cricket in recent times," More said adding that a lot was always expected of him.

"What we liked about him was that every time we saw him he was getting better. From Ranji Trophy to Duleep Trophy to playing for India A, we could see that his game was improving by leaps and bounds. It's then we decided to give him a chance," said More.

"And the way he is going and the way he has conducted himself on and off the field, he will only get better and be a great asset to Indian cricket," More added.

But, if More & Co must be applauded for putting their faith in Dhoni, Raju Mukherjee and PC Poddar also deserve credit. As Talent Research and Development Officers, they were first to spot Dhoni.

"What made him stand out was that he could hit the ball with ferocious power and also had a good head on his shoulders. In our report, we wrote that on his day Dhoni could win a match single-handedly because he had raw strength and good hand-eye co-ordination," Mukherjee said.

"What he has achieved in recent times is phenomenal. He has risen quickly and has shown exceptional maturity and he has a long way ahead. Also, considering that he is a village boy, his rise will inspire many others. And that is a great thing for Indian cricket," Mukherjee added.