Is MS Dhoni the right man to lead Team India?

October 4, 2012

dhoni_right_man

As a nation, we tend to censure our cricketing heroes as earnestly as we celebrate them. A talented player often goes from icon to villain and back on a weekly basis, depending on the opponent and venue. When it comes to cricket, public sentiment is as fickle as Twenty20.

Remarkably, there is one player who has seemed immune to the ebbs and flows of public perception. It's not Sachin Tendulkar but MS Dhoni, who has now been at the helm of cricketing affairs for nearly half a decade. The captain has scripted some remarkable highs and stood mute spectator to some terrible lows. Throughout, he has enjoyed the confidence of both the volatile masses and his calculating bosses in the BCCI.

There are indications, however, that the longer-than-usual rope given to Dhoni may be fraying at the edges. India's failure to make the semifinals in three successive World T20 tournaments - following Dhoni's meteoric rise to stardom in 2007, when the format was in its infancy - has drawn out the swords.

Some pointed questions are now being raised about Dhoni's leadership credentials in T20s and Tests. Sri Lanka was just the latest instance when India hasn't looked the part. Critics say that over the past year or so, some of Dhoni's bowling changes, field placements and choice of playing XI have defied logic.

Just like on Tuesday, when India played three seamers against South Africa after watching Pakistan bowl 18 overs of spin. Dhoni didn't bowl specialist spinner Ashwin when qualification was within India's grasp. His field placements and failure to stop the singles continued to frustrate.

"No captain in the history of Indian cricket has enjoyed as long a rope as Dhoni has," former India skipper Bishan Singh Bedi told TOI.

"Nowhere in the world will you find a captain being retained after losing eight away Tests on the trot. He is negative and superstitious. Tactically, he is nothing great. If there are selection issues, Dhoni has allowed them to fester."

On the face of it, India were unlucky in Sri Lanka. They have, after all, risen to No. 2 in the T20 rankings, won Super 8 games (two of them) for the first time since 2007, bowled out opponents four times out of five, and lost just once to Australia. The format, too, is notoriously difficult to tame.

To the discerning eye, though, India never looked like winning the tournament. Dhoni's out-of-the-box tactics, which look so good when they come off, are failing to deliver more often than not. Worse, a once frank and fearless leader now seems to be hiding behind excuses about rain, bad luck and bad form. The stamp of quiet assurance and occasional tactical masterstoke has gone missing.

Former India spinner Maninder Singh said, "When he was winning, Dhoni gave the impression he was a thinking cricketer. Now that he has started losing, he appears confused. As a captain you don't give lame excuses like blaming the rain. He knew keeping South Africa under 120 would have been tough, yet he threw the ball to Rohit Sharma. There was no variation. He also opened the batting with two left-handers and then with two left-arm seamers in one match."

Admittedly, there are issues beyond the captain. India's bowling is a rag-tag combination at best; a nightmare in mediocrity at worst. The two seasoned openers have consistently failed. The middle order, without Kohli, is muddled. In spite of Dhoni's comment that the performance is Sri Lanka was "satisfactory", everyone knows India are not the best anymore.

Any reflection on the team's downward curve, though, must necessarily factor in the skipper too. Dhoni, as we all know, is a fantastic ODI captain. But is he the best in T20s or Tests?

In ODIs, India are the reigning world champions and Dhoni seems to enjoy playing the format. But every World T20 since the win in 2007 has been an ordinary campaign.

India have won just 16 of 31 matches overall in all T20 Internationals since Feb 2009, surprising for a nation which hosts the world's biggest T20 league, the IPL.

In Tests, India's eight losses on the trot away from home in England and Australia often showed up an unimaginative leader struggling to cope with his limited arsenal. At home, India still fancy their chances but for how long?

Shouldn't Dhoni's own 'horses for courses' policy be applicable for the captain too? What stops India from splitting the captaincy across formats like, say, England have?

"It will not work out," former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar told TOI, "There is nobody better than Dhoni. He should still lead in all three formats. He has been severely hampered by his opening pair failing. India lack a genuine pacer. There is no X-factor in this team."

Dhoni knows the scrutiny will only increase in the upcoming Tests against England and later, Australia. Defeat may not be an option. In the coming months, India's captain may discover if 'home advantage' can exist outside the field of play.


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News Network
January 23,2020

Dhaka, Jan 23: Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who is part of the Bangladesh squad traveling to Pakistan, posted a cryptic tweet before team's departure which raised a few eyebrows.

On Wednesday evening, Rahman took to Twitter to post a selfie along with his teammates before the team's departure and asked his followers to pray for them, writing: "Heading to Pakistan. Remember us in your prayers."

Bangladesh were earlier reluctant to travel to Pakistan. However, the officials of both the teams met in Dubai and it was after many deliberations, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agreed to send their team for a cricket series.

Bangladesh will be playing three T20Is, two Tests and an ODI in Pakistan between January and April. The T20I series will be played from January 24-27 in Lahore, followed by the first Test from February 7 to 11.

Bangladesh will then return to Pakistan in April for the one-off ODI which will be played on April 3 and the second Test from April 5-9.

Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim decided against traveling to Pakistan citing personal reasons. After that, five members of the Bangladesh coaching staff also pulled out of the tour.

Pakistan have also recalled the experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, along with pacer Shaheen Afridi for the T20I series.

Squads:

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Kumer Das, MD Mithun, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.

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News Network
February 21,2020

New Delhi, Feb 21: Vinesh Phogat yet again fell to Japanese nemesis Mayu Muakida to go out of the gold medal race but Sakshi Malik will fight for the title after winning her semifinal bout at the Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Friday.

Vinesh had lost twice to Mukaida in 2019 – at World Championship and Asian Championships —and the trend continued as the gritty Indian yet again struggled to break the strong defence of the Japanese.

In a tough opening round, Vinesh tried single leg attacks a number of times but every time Mukaida blocked her move and eventually got the upper body lock to subdue the home favourite.

In her last two meetings, Vinesh had not scored a single point against the 2019 world silver medallist. She managed a takedown this time before eventually losing 2-6.

The hard-working Vinesh will now fight for bronze against Vietnam's Thi Ly Kieu but even a medal won't suffice to lift her mood as she and the fans have high expectations from her.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who has been struggling of late, lost her opening round 1-2 to Naomi Ruike from Japan but later overcame two weak opponents to eventually reach the final of the non-Olympic 65kg category.

She could hardly attack Naomi but outplayed Korea's Ohyoung Ha in the next round, winning by technical superiority.

In her semifinal against Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva, Sakshi led 5-0 but her rival pulled off consecutive two-point moves to make it 5-4.

Sakshi has been losing in closing stages of late but this time she managed to hold on to her narrow lead, surviving anxious last two seconds.

Also in medal contention are India's brightest youngsters Sonam Malik (62kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg).

Sonam, who had defeated Sakshi in the trials, showed good tactical mind in her resounding win against Korea's Hanbit Lee and also in the 2-5 defeat against world bronze medallist Yukako Kawai.

She pulled off a superb point-scoring move from a disadvantageous position and resisted the 2018 U-23 world champion Yukako in a good fashion.

She will now fight for bronze against Aisuluu Tynbekova.

Anshu Malik opened up her campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Nuraida Anarkulova, winning by technical superiority but was outplayed by reigning world champion from Japan Riskao Kawai.

She will have to beat Sevara Eshmuratova from Uzbekistan to grab a bronze.

In the non-olympic 72kg, Gursharanpreet Kaur is in bronze medal contention. She beat Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova but lost to Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakberzenova.

She still made it to the semifinal in which she lost to Japan's Mei Shindo.

She is now up against Mongloia's Tsevegmed Enkhbayar.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Indore, Jan 7: With the first T20I being washed out, India and Sri Lanka will now hope that rain gods stay away from the Holkar Stadium when the two teams face each other in the second match of the ongoing three-game series on Tuesday.

Only toss could take place on Sunday at Guwahati`s Barsapara Cricket Ground before rain gods came in and left damp spots on the pitch thus forcing the game to be called off without a ball being bowled.

Hairdryers were used to dry the pitch after water seeped in through leaking covers at the Barsapara Stadium, a sight which is not usually seen in international cricket. And that hasn`t gone down well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which now awaits chief curator Ashish Bhowmick`s report on the same.

The Men in Blue, who enjoyed a brief break, are coming into the series on the back of T20I series victories against Bangladesh and West Indies respectively and thus would be the more confident side out of the two.

Just like Guwahati, the team management and other Indian cricket fans would focus on comeback man Jasprit Bumrah who is making his return to international cricket. Bumrah has been out of action after India`s tour of the West Indies in July-August due to a stress fracture on his back and thus would be rearing to go and perform for the team.

Dhawan, like Bumrah, was not part of the West Indies series after he hurt his knee during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The left-handed opener was not at his absolute best in the T20I series against Bangladesh and faced criticism from several quarters.

While Bumrah will grab more eyeballs during the remaining two matches, the series is also important for left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, making a comeback into the team post knee injury.

However, recently, he scored a century in the Ranji Trophy and showed glimpses of returning to form.

In the bowling department, the team management would be checking out how the likes Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur react to pressure situations in death overs alongside Bumrah in the absence of frontline speedsters Mohammed Shami Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Young-off spinner Washington Sundar would like to put up performances to ensure that he gets to be part of the squad travelling to Australia for the World T20 in October.

Shivam Dube would also like to perform better - both with bat and ball - till Hardik Pandya is fully fit and back in action.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant - like recent times - will once again be watched with careful eyes. Pant knows that he cannot take things lightly and need to perform as Sanju Samson as already warmed the benches for six straight T20Is.

For Sri Lanka, the remaining two matches of the series would be about giving match practice to the likes of Angelo Mathews who is returning to the national side having last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018

In their last T20I series, Sri Lanka suffered a 0-3 rout in Australia as all their three departments failed to put in a commanding performance.

India and Sri Lanka have faced each other in 17 T20Is, out of which India have won 11 -- joint most for them against all opponents faced in shortest format.

With the three-match series now effectively turning into a two-game affair, both India and Sri Lanka would want to win in Indore to make sure they can`t lose the series. Also, Sri Lanka have never beaten India in a bilateral T20I series, a record which they would desperately like to change in the remaining two games.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.

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