Dhoni: It doesn't matter if I'm lucky if team is winning

(AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

All the fuss on the way to the first Test match has been about one Indian cricketer. Sachin Tendulkar, who has achieved a veneration usually reserved for gods, stands improbably on the cusp of making his 100th international hundred.

But another Indian cricketer in this series is assuming, if he has not already done so, a significance every bit as great. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (right) is the captain of India. On his watch, they have become the world's top side in the ICC ratings and they also won the World Cup. When he led Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, they won it. This boy has something.

Dhoni has a neat trick in press briefings where his opinion is sought on everything and he gives one on virtually nothing while speaking at length with considerable charm.

"The hype that is around cricket, the amount of people that watch cricket, the amount of opinions that float around, I try to set the right expectation level," he said. "When we turn up on the field we're expected to win each and every game, which we know is not possible."

Dhoni was asked what he thought about the opinion that he was a lucky captain. "In 1999 I first played Under-19 state cricket," he said. "If somebody had told me I would be playing with Sachin I would have told them that's a lie, it won't happen. I never thought I would play for India. I feel if the team is winning it doesn't matter if we are a good side or that the captain is lucky, if we're winning I don't mind."