Gambhir vs Dhoni: An analysis of what is and what could be

Well, IPL is the last place in the cricketing itinerary where strategy is thought to be responsible for a team’s performance. Most of the days, it’s either an outstanding performance with the bat or with the ball that determines the result of the game. What strategy can do in the long term, however, is make your team less predictable and hence harder to contend with.

A perfect case in point is the stark difference in the way Dhoni and Gambhir have led their sides in the IPL. Well, obviously, Dhoni has a clear advantage with the experience he has leading the Indian side in different formats over a few years now. But that doesn’t take away the prowess he has shown in consistently driving the boys in yellow to their best which reflects in the results they have been able to produce routinely. So much so that the involvement of BCCI in the IPL has come under the scanner with the owner of the Super Kings also heading the regulatory body. But conspiracy theories aside, it is not very difficult to see what Dhoni has done right. Of course, he has got a very potent mix of players in his team that he has been able to bring out the best in. But that’s the job of the advisory think tank; to get players for the most value and not for their star power (which sadly has been the case with some other franchises).

Dhoni, for one, has always believed in leading by example. He’s been this rock in the middle who takes care of business in the most cool and unassuming manner, no matter how tough things get. His ability to absorb pressure has been his greatest gift on the cricket field when he’s led the ‘Men in Blue’. He believes in making things happen instead of waiting for them to happen. He has the ability to take quick decisions and not rue them for not working out, but find a different way. His batting, even though lacking the class and polish of many in the game, is as effective. He has come a long way since his swatting days, when all he was expected to do was hit the ball as hard as possible. He found a completely different dimension to his game which let him finish numerous games for his team.

I still remember the last few overs from their game against King’s XI Punjab in the serene surroundings at Dharamsala a few years back where he murdered the opposition to make a very challenging total look mediocre. His batting, for a long time now, has been a heady mix of steady accumulation and aggression at the right moments. He has patience too. Many a time, when his plans don’t seem to come off and his overtly critical adversaries suddenly decide to find their tongues, he keeps his cool. That is because he is mature enough to understand the difference between standing at the centre of the pitch and crying foul from the outside. Patient aggression, after seeing Dhoni on the field, I assure you is not an oxymoron any more.  Dhoni has this uncanny ability to put his faith on a man when no one else does. He puts so much trust in his men that it becomes almost impossible to disappoint him; Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Shadab Jakati, Manpreet Goni, Ravindra Jadeja, Joginder Sharma and others who fall in this line up know it for sure. You can’t but love him for that. Chennai are always a well knit and well lead team. You know what to expect when you watch them play.

Flip.

Enter the most glamorous, most discussed, most marketable team in IPL; the all conquering Kolkata Knight Riders from last year’s IPL. I, for one, was overjoyed to see them go the distance last year beating the odds against Dhoni’s men at Chepauk. I was happy because I, like many other KKR fans, had been waiting for the moment for five years. The team had always had the big names in their line up. It had been a profit making entity from the first edition of IPL. But that’s all it was. It was the price of its merchandise, the glitz and glamour associated with the association of Bollywood; the black and golden armour (which became purple and golden) falling flat in the face of genuine gritty performances from teams like the Rajasthan Royals who have always done more than justice with their low key lineups. Gautam Gambhir took over the reins of a failing franchise from an ageing Ganguly, much to the reluctance of the loyal Kolkata crowd, in 2011. According to the team management, he brought in skill both as a player and as a leader with him. I begged to disagree.

Gautam Gambhir has always been a respected cricketer in my eyes. With all his on field antics, its been my belief that he is one of the best openers India has produced. He has proved me right time and again with his prolific run scoring (sans the dry patch he’s had recently). But his place in the team in the capacity of a leader was very debatable. Ok, so Sourav Ganguly was aggressive on field (and he has the distinction in my mind of being the best captain the Indian team has ever had). But his aggression was a clever mix of highs and lows. He knew when to speak and when to keep quiet. His aggression was not just about the raised eyebrows and frequent use of expletives on the ground. It was as much about what he said as what he left unsaid. Dear old Gauti, on the other hand, has a big problem with controlling his emotions on the ground. It’s obviously expected from captains to demand very high standards from his players with the level of the game these days. But, to show those feelings in public as frequently as he does, sometimes becomes more counter-productive than anything else.

At the risk of sounding officious, I would go as far as saying that KKR’s last year triumph was more a result of individual performances by a few, the captain included, and the brilliance of one Manvinder Bisla in the finals instead of any collective effort or leadership technique. For most of the IPL last year, teams were not able to figure out the crafty Sunil Narine and consequently fumbled in games facing him. The selection of Yusuf Pathan in all matches, his string of unending failures with the bat notwithstanding, is bizarre to say the least. Just because he was acquired at a whopping amount of $2.1 million doesn’t in any way make up for his incessant pedestrian performances in any way. This is why even as the defending champions, they are a ship sinking fast in this edition. A simple understanding of the game is enough to understand what’s going wrong for KKR. How soon action will follow will determine their fortunes in this edition and in years to come.