In the on-going Australia-India series, it seems like India Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is fighting a lone battle.
His batsmen might be scoring all the runs, but his bowlers and fielders just do not seem to be with him.
To be fair, the batsmen too, are only scoring for themselves and bettering their own record. Take Rohit Sharma for instance. He has been in good form and is trying to make the most of it. Australian pitches are not known for their seam or swing and hence it's difficult to get him out initially. We all know that Rohit is a nervous starter, and this lack of swing, seam or pace from the Australian unit is only playing into his hands. Agreed that it still takes some doing to score two back-to-back hundreds and kudos to him for that.
Virat Kohli, scored two back-to-back fifties and he seemed in great form too. He had pledged that he will score atleast two hundreds in the series and so far till the 3rd ODI he has hit one. His average before this series in Australia was 15.83, which has now gone upto 40.22. So, he did himself and the country a favour.
Shikhar Dhawan, as much as it was debated if he did play a selfish innings or was it his way of getting back into the groove of things and may be push on from there, after getting a start. One wouldn't know the result as he got out scoring 68 off 91 deliveries in the 3rd ODI at Melbourne.
Ajinkya Rahane, scored two fifties and is trying to secure his place in a team where Dhoni is captain. Kohli, believes in him as a Test batsman. Although, it isn't clear yet if Rahane will remain at no.4.
Anyway, back to the Dhoni and the lone battle.
If one was to view the matches from a non-biased point of view, it could be clearly seen that the bowlers and fielders just do not seem to be under Dhoni's control. He asks them to bowl to a certain field and they fail to deliver. And these are no inexperienced bowlers as the commentators and experts have been crying out loud. It is Ishant's 4th tour, Umesh's 3rd tour, Ashwin's 2nd tour. Bhuvneshwar too has travelled to Australia before.
The fact that after the 2nd ODI Dhoni mentioned in the press conference that Rishi Dhawan might bowl well but will not be successful at this level and the next match he gets his ODI cap. Clearly shows a rift between the selectors and the captain. The fact that what the captain says and believes in just does not matter doesn't augur well.
If he is the chosen captain then give him all the support.
As of now it is pretty clear that the Kohli-Shastri nexus is working overtime to make sure the Dhoni-led Team India doesn't get success and paves way for Kohli to takeover the ODI as well T20 captaincy from India's most successful captain ever!
Sad as it may be, Indian cricket has never really learnt to give a fitting farewell to its heroes. The World T20 in all possibility might be Dhoni's last series as captain and player.
The way the format is scheduled for the World T20, India is bound to reach the semis and from there it is anybody's game. If Dhoni wants to be selfless he might not retire if India wins, just the way Tendulkar did not, as he thought it would take away the focus from India's victory.
But Dhoni is now a changed man. He blames his bowlers, he complains about his batsmen not being able to rotate the strike, he gets frustrated on the field, he ha started to show his emotions after India picks up a wicket or when his fielders fail. This Dhoni is not the Dhoni that won us the World T20 with the calm and the cool.
This is a new Dhoni. One who is fighting a lone battle, sadly, there is no one supporting him.
Dhoni is the last man standing of his own era!
His batsmen might be scoring all the runs, but his bowlers and fielders just do not seem to be with him.
To be fair, the batsmen too, are only scoring for themselves and bettering their own record. Take Rohit Sharma for instance. He has been in good form and is trying to make the most of it. Australian pitches are not known for their seam or swing and hence it's difficult to get him out initially. We all know that Rohit is a nervous starter, and this lack of swing, seam or pace from the Australian unit is only playing into his hands. Agreed that it still takes some doing to score two back-to-back hundreds and kudos to him for that.
Virat Kohli, scored two back-to-back fifties and he seemed in great form too. He had pledged that he will score atleast two hundreds in the series and so far till the 3rd ODI he has hit one. His average before this series in Australia was 15.83, which has now gone upto 40.22. So, he did himself and the country a favour.
Shikhar Dhawan, as much as it was debated if he did play a selfish innings or was it his way of getting back into the groove of things and may be push on from there, after getting a start. One wouldn't know the result as he got out scoring 68 off 91 deliveries in the 3rd ODI at Melbourne.
Ajinkya Rahane, scored two fifties and is trying to secure his place in a team where Dhoni is captain. Kohli, believes in him as a Test batsman. Although, it isn't clear yet if Rahane will remain at no.4.
Anyway, back to the Dhoni and the lone battle.
If one was to view the matches from a non-biased point of view, it could be clearly seen that the bowlers and fielders just do not seem to be under Dhoni's control. He asks them to bowl to a certain field and they fail to deliver. And these are no inexperienced bowlers as the commentators and experts have been crying out loud. It is Ishant's 4th tour, Umesh's 3rd tour, Ashwin's 2nd tour. Bhuvneshwar too has travelled to Australia before.
The fact that after the 2nd ODI Dhoni mentioned in the press conference that Rishi Dhawan might bowl well but will not be successful at this level and the next match he gets his ODI cap. Clearly shows a rift between the selectors and the captain. The fact that what the captain says and believes in just does not matter doesn't augur well.
If he is the chosen captain then give him all the support.
As of now it is pretty clear that the Kohli-Shastri nexus is working overtime to make sure the Dhoni-led Team India doesn't get success and paves way for Kohli to takeover the ODI as well T20 captaincy from India's most successful captain ever!
Sad as it may be, Indian cricket has never really learnt to give a fitting farewell to its heroes. The World T20 in all possibility might be Dhoni's last series as captain and player.
The way the format is scheduled for the World T20, India is bound to reach the semis and from there it is anybody's game. If Dhoni wants to be selfless he might not retire if India wins, just the way Tendulkar did not, as he thought it would take away the focus from India's victory.
But Dhoni is now a changed man. He blames his bowlers, he complains about his batsmen not being able to rotate the strike, he gets frustrated on the field, he ha started to show his emotions after India picks up a wicket or when his fielders fail. This Dhoni is not the Dhoni that won us the World T20 with the calm and the cool.
This is a new Dhoni. One who is fighting a lone battle, sadly, there is no one supporting him.
Dhoni is the last man standing of his own era!
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