INDIA'S cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the world's first US$10 million cricketer, knows few failures.
In his short stint at the helm, the man rated by Forbes magazine as cricket's richest exponent, has notched up more memorable series wins than any other Indian captain in the past.
The loss in the T20 World Cup is an exception.
For some reason, people believe that he cannot fail.
They believe that he is the leader of India's best-ever team.
That players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag have been around for several years is forgotten.
Dhoni seems to have shrouded the Indian team with an aura of invincibility and given the general public a feeling that this is the team to beat.
What is it that makes this man so special that sponsors are queueing up at his door?
Surely, Sehwag can bat at a faster clip than he.
Yuvraj Singh can clear more boundaries.
Dhoni has at times changed his batting style to give stability to the middle order, but can he match the wall-like qualities of Dravid?
And why talk of batsmanship when there is Tendulkar in the team?
Incidentally, Tendulkar comes second in the Forbes list with earnings of US$8 million.
Yet, it is Dhoni that the marketing men are after.
According to Forbes, in the world of Indian sport and entertainment, Dhoni's haul of 17 corporate sponsors is second only to Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood star and co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Over the last 12 months, Dhoni made US$8 million in endorsements alone, mainly from the likes of Reebok, General Electric and Pepsi.
Another US$2 million came from club and national team salaries.
Perhaps it is his personality that makes him a winner.
He comes from a backward state and thus has the sympathy that one often associates with an underdog.
He speaks English well, something modern India loves to see its sportsmen do when they are on television.
He is pretty straightforward in his replies at press conferences but, at the same time, does not come across as arrogant like a "princely" player of recent times.
His love for motorbikes gives him a certain devil-may-care image, unlike the more serious Tendulkar or Dravid.
But most of all it is his level-headedness.
Success has not gone to his head.
For all his youthful exuberance, he is not a party animal like Yuvraj or Harbhajan who, on occasion, have lost it.
This steadfastness pitches him as a role model which many sponsors are drawn to.
During the six-week break the team took from cricket before the Colombo tournament, Dhoni was busy shooting commercials and endorsing products.
He was in Kerala combining a holiday in the backwaters of Alleppey with shooting a commercial for a soft-drinks company.
He also visited two-wheeler maker TVS' factory in Hosur to test drive some models.
But it has not been all show and no play by Dhoni these past 12 months.
His performances on the pitch have resulted in him being nominated in three categories for this year's International Cricket Council (ICC) awards.
He has an opportunity to pick up a second consecutive one-day international player of the year award, and also features in the cricketer and Test player categories.
The awards will be given out in Johannesburg on Oct 1.
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