He has the charisma, says Ravi Shastri. You can see that the whole team looks up towards him on the field, says Sunil Gavaskar. And speaking to The Indian Express from Johannesburg, chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar sums it all up: “He has all the good qualities of a captain, he is calm under pressure, he backs his decisions, and he is not afraid to take risks.”

But what’s really been the defining shade of India’s new one-day captain is the lack of fear, the wealth of self-belief, this simple credo: reputations don’t count, all that matters is confidence; the first man who raises his hand will get the job. He’s a captain, whose no-nonsense attitude has the potential to redefine the bizarrely whimsical way in which India has been picking its final XI, and playing its cricket so far. He’s a captain who has left his fingerprints on the hearts of every member of his team, young and old: prints that say, no fear.

Really, it’s not about smalltown India any longer, it’s about big-time confidence. Consider this:

When Yuvraj Singh, two days after that six-sixes over, was not sure about his left elbow just minutes before the next match against South Africa, what did Dhoni do? He had no fear, didn’t waste much time in persuasion, he simply called in Dinesh Kaarthick.

When Australia needed 22 runs from the last over, who did he call in to bowl? Joginder Sharma, the slow medium-pacer from Rohtak, just because he was confident he could do it, though he had gone for 18 runs in his first over, 13 in his second.

In the final against Pakistan, when Virender Sehwag pulled up with a thigh strain, did he fall back on experience and reputation — Ajit Agarkar and Dinesh Kaarthick — even if they were out of form? No, he threw in rookie Yusuf Pathan, Irfan’s brother, and asked him to open. Again, because he was confident and he had no fear.

And finally, when Harbhajan Singh was not sure whether he could get his yorker-length balls right in the last over of the final today, Pakistan needing just 13 runs and Misbah ready for the last big shot, what did he do? He had no fear, he turned to Joginder again. Because? “Rather than give the ball to a bowler who wasn’t sure, I thought I should throw the ball to someone who really wants to do well in international cricket.”

And, of course, the quick-fire thinking on his feet, not scared to have five fielders in the ring against Pakistan during a Twenty20 run chase, when just four would have done. Says Vengsarkar, “He’s a good student of the game, modest and disciplined. And most importantly, he has delivered.”

And yes, he gives it back too. Ask the usually cocky Ravi Shastri, left red-faced, in front of millions watching on TV, when Dhoni took the mike after the Australia win, and said: “Ravi, we read your article before the match where you said Australia were the favourites. We have proved you wrong.”

But surely, after having seen first-hand how the weight of a billion expectations, and the lack of adequate support from a moth-balled system did to the veteran Rahul Dravid, Dhoni knows that the test starts soon. As soon as this weekend, when the Australians, seething after their Twenty20 loss, will come hard at India in the seven-match one-day series at home. Besides the cameras and the screaming fans, he will also have to manage three former captains, give them space, still get the best out of them, drawing the line when it’s needed.

Of course, it’s just the beginning — remember, he’s just three years old in this big, bad world. But then, with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble near the door, Dhoni might just be the start India is looking for.