"O Captain! My Captain!" - time to take the fearful trip!
Adulation, insane flack, grey hair and intense drama – it comprises the life of an Indian cricket captain. Captaining the Indian cricket team is perhaps tougher than being the Prime Minister of this country. It’s a “foot on the throat” job and whenever there’s a glitch in performance, the captain feels the twitch more than anyone else. The Prime Minister can stay quiet but the Indian captain has to walk up to the podium after every game to explain why things fell apart.
Captaining the Indian cricket team is both an honour and a hazard. You win trophies, you’re the darling of the nation, but fail in a couple of matches and your head is in demand! Not many have lived up to it, in fact a few greats have been miserable viz. Sachin Tendulkar. However, there have been a few who not only captained with distinction, but also led the team to the higher echelons of success. MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, Md. Azharuddin, Saurav Ganguly and of course, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Captaincy is an art; it requires man management skills to keep a team together and performing. It’s a very difficult job to keep everyone happy, especially when that everyone includes a billion cricket nuts! Just like medicines, every captain has a shelf life and one can handle it only for a limited period. In India, once you raise the bar, you have to keep going past it every game, every tournament. No wonder, Indian captains end up with grey sideburns and salt and pepper beard by the time they end their foray.
MS Dhoni, too, is no exception. His ultra glamorous outlook has given way to a tired grey tinge. Both his approach to the game looks jaded and yearns for a change. With the new selection committee in charge, well, don’t be surprised if we see a few heads tumbling.
In the last 48 hours, there has been a rumor about India going the English way of appointing three captains in three formats. Dhoni for Tests, Virat Kohli for ODIs and Suresh Raina for the shortest format. The rumour has gathered wind as one of the selectors was quoted that they would be questioning the performances of a few seniors. Agreed, that Indian cricket has taken a nosedive since the night of 2nd April 2011 and requires an overhaul, but three captains…will it really fix the problems?
Let’s take a closer look at the candidates whose names have been doing the rounds.
MS Dhoni needs a break, no doubt. Captaining three formats, batting, wicket keeping, for India and Chennai Super Kings – he’s got his plate full. He looks tired and helpless (in situations). He has delivered more clichés than the commentators defending his team’s performances and has lacked the spark on and off the park. But is keeping him at helm for the Tests the correct move? Maybe not. He has been more than vocal about burn out and has often hinted at quitting the longer format in lieu of the 2015 World Cup. So retaining him for the tests makes very little sense.
Can India meddle with Kohli’s form by handing him the captaincy?
Virat Kohli is the toast of the nation at the moment. Aggressive, confident, performing, proactive, best player in the team, and now the tag of maturity sits well with him too. He’s suited for the job in every possible aspect. A World Cup winning captain at the U-19 level, Kohli knows how to manage a team. But at 23, is he ready to take on a bunch of under performing seniors? And the general notion is that the burden of captaincy might ebb the run flow. With him being the only batsman scoring, are the selectors willing to bet on him?
Suresh Raina, the best Indian T20 batsman. Just like Kohli, even he has a few things going for him. Cool, confident, energetic, always cheering up the team, Raina is one of the “honest triers” in the side. He’s not as talented as Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli, but guarantees a hundred percent effort every time he walks out. He has the makings of a very good captain because he has a big heart and understands failure. He can be a good option in the T20 format because he knows he’s one of the best in that business. But in ODIs and Tests, he falls short of those standards.
Three different captains can also complicate things. Remember John Buchanan and his KKR theories? England has tried it and have been moderately successful at it. South Africa tried it and has yielded results, but India is neither the Proteas not the Poms. We like a strong leader with a clear mandate. That’s why Ganguly is still hailed as the leader even now. The only time India applied multiple captains was when Anil Kumble was about to retire.
To be true, MS Dhoni has to be relieved of the clutches of captaincy. We need a change and he isn’t looking like the one up for it. Handing over the captaincy to Kohli for at least 2 formats seems a sane decision, but if we are looking forward to retain the 2015 World Cup, you don’t want to meddle with him. If he is to be assigned as the man, give him a substantial amount of time. Even if that means a few games gone wrong.
Raina – one of the “honest triers” in the side
It’s time for the selectors to take the difficult route but it is also an opportunity to build a new team, a nucleus around which the success of the next ten years will revolve. So, will it be Kohli in all three formats? Will it be 3 different captains? Will Gautam Gambhir nudge in?
Tough questions, but they need to be answered if we want to build again, because…
Good Captains only win games…Great leaders build teams!