New Delhi, Feb 11: We know India's bowling is weak, we know Virat Kohli is a class act, we know Rohit Sharma can be dangerous on his day, we know that Ajinkya Rahane is developing into a superb bat but we have no real idea of what's going wrong with Mahendra Singh Dhoni - and he isn't going to be telling anyone anytime soon.
The Indian skipper is short of runs and going into the two big games against Pakistan (Feb 15) and South Africa (Feb. 22), that should worry the team management no end.
Against Australia in the first warm-up game, he received a good bouncer first up and went for the hook shot. In the deep, Mitchell Starc pulled off an incredible one-handed catch on the boundary line. Dhoni was a little stunned but he was gone for a duck.
In the second warm-up against Afghanistan, he once again seemed out of sorts. He needed to spend time in the middle and just bat without worrying about the run-rate or the result. But he played a strange little innings -- his timing was off and if truth be said, he seemed rather uninterested. He ended up scoring 10 off 20 balls, hit no fours or sixes and didn't even look a shade of the finisher the world has come to fear over the last decade.
There were no signs that India asked Rohit Sharma, who made 150 off 122 balls, to retire so that the other batsmen, including Dhoni, could have had a longer stint in the middle. It a slightly odd gameplan - given that the matches in the group stage play a huge role in deciding the quarterfinal opponent. If you finish first, there is a chance of running into Zimbabwe or Bangladesh and that would be preferable to running into Australia, England or New Zealand.
If it was just two matches, one would not worry about Dhoni's form or his mental state. But his drought has been longer and not even once has he been in the situation where he can say that he is striking the ball well but has just been unlucky.
In the second Test against Australia, Dhoni - coming back fron injury - made 33 and 0. He played sensibly in the first innings to reach 33 off 53 balls but never quite looked settled. In the second innings, he came down the wicket to the paceman but was still adjudged leg before by the umpire (a correct decision).
In the third Test, he was gone for 11 in the first innings and scored a balanced 24 not out in the second innings to help India draw the match.
Before the fourth Test came around, he had announced his retirement from Test cricket. It meant more time on the sidelines; more time without any competitive cricket; more time without a chance to really fine tune his game to the different challenges that Australian wickets provide to his technique.
The poor form of the Tests carried over into the ODIs too. In three ODIs (the fourth was a washout), Dhoni's highest score was 34. Since October 2014, he has only two scores over fifty and one has to wonder whether the breaks and the injuries have him feeling a little rusty.
The trekking trip might have been a good break but all Dhoni needs to do at this point is practice and get back his feel. He is 33 now and things take that little bit longer to come back than they used to. While fitness is essential, batting in the nets might just help him get back to speed quickly and he need to acknowledge that right now
If it is just rust then India are still okay but if his technique and form are unable to cope with Australia then India are in serious trouble. In the shorter format -- much more than the Tests -- India count on Dhoni to apply the finishing touches to the innings while batting first and to calmly chase down totals when batting second. If he is out of form, it leaves a huge gap in India's plans.
India's bowling isn't something Dhoni can rely on -- so India's hopes of defending the World Cup depend almost entirely on it's batting and on every batsmen playing to his potential. In that scenario, Dhoni's average of 52.29, his strike-rate of 88.84 and his ability to raise his games when the team needs him most is unparalleded. He cannot afford to cruise.
The opponents fear him but right now, India needs him to just turn on the switch and wake up. He usually likes to leave it late but it's time the real Dhoni makes his presence felt yet again and gives the fans some much-needed breathing space.
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