Why it is time for MS Dhoni to give up the ODI captaincy
"Yes, if it is a justifiable thing that if you remove me and Indian cricket will start doing really well, and if I am the reason for all the bad that is happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away and play as a player,” a visibly flustered India captain said.
MS Dhoni’s uncharacteristic outburst at the press conference after the series loss to Bangladesh had culminated in more implications than he could possibly have hoped for. In a country where slaughtering of cricketing gods overnight is no more irregular than a mid-day nap, such a tongue-in-cheek comment from the usually nonchalant man elicited immediate cover stories and a couple of sensational reports of unrest inside the dressing room that spread like wildfire courtesy the average Indian fan’s unbridled love for gossip.
Calling for the head of the man-in-charge after a couple of failures is hardly shocking nowadays. But let us, for once, chuck the plastic glory-hunter’s opinion into the bin. The question, however, still lingers – is it time for Dhoni to relinquish the ODI captaincy? Here’s a comprehensive analysis of both arguments before we reach a conclusion.
The suggestion of playing just as a player
During the course of the much-publicized media conference, Dhoni asserted that captaincy was simply the responsibility he had been entrusted with. “I was never really in line to become a captain. It was a job or responsibility for me. I have taken that responsibility. It was given to me, I took it. If they want to take it away, I am happy to give it away,” he said.
His proposition that he would be as keen to walk out into the field a player as he is a skipper sounds interesting, since he hasn’t been in brilliant batting form of late. His last century came against Australia at Mohali almost two years ago. An innings break-up of his batting aggregate from last October till the World Cup is shown here.
| Opposition | Runs | Balls Faced |
|---|---|---|
| West Indies | 8 | 21 |
| West Indies | 51* | 40 |
| West Indies | 6 | 5 |
| Australia | 19 | 31 |
| England | 34 | 61 |
| England | 17 | 32 |
In each of the first two matches of the World Cup, against Pakistan and South Africa respectively, he scored 18 before being caught out. Apart from an unbeaten 85 against Zimbabwe, he cut a sorry figure throughout the tournament.
Indeed, if not the low scores – several may argue about his batting position not permitting him to build an innings – the remarkable feature in all these innings since the England tour last year has been his sub-par strike-rate. Only twice in 17 innings has he managed to achieve a strike-rate of 110 or more while ending with a score of 20+.
What, then, do the stats say about Dhoni the finisher? It is to be noted that India has fielded first on only 18 occasions in matches since January 2014. Barring the four innings where he hadn’t been required to wield the willow, the Indian skipper accumulated 430 runs at a healthy average of 53.75, thanks to a couple of half-centuries against New Zealand early last year before the 85 not out against Zimbabwe in the World Cup.
However, his strike-rate, which shot above 100 only on three instances, remained a bother.
So how many of these were match-winning innings? Boom! None. Among the six matches that India won chasing since January 2014, the skipper had not even come out to bat on four occasions. In the two that he did – against West Indies and Zimbabwe – Mohammed Shami and Suresh Raina respectively went on to steal the show with stellar individual performances.
So if Dhoni lets go of the coveted chair, does he still merit a place in the XI? Probably. The last couple of matches against Bangladesh have been ample testament to the fact that he has much to offer to this side both as a middle-order batsman as well as a wicket-keeper.
While his sluggish 75-ball 47 in the second ODI has been unanimously criticized for having slowed down India’s innings, it has been conveniently forgotten that he had come out to bat at 74/2 and had his hands tied considering the fact that wickets were falling regularly at the other end.
But here lies the catch. Dhoni had stated a couple of days back that he has wanted to occupy the No. 4 position for quite some time now in order to play ‘more freely’. While that is justifiable for a player who has spent the majority of his cricketing career at No. 6, one cannot brush aside the possible implications of this move.
Not only does this entail a fresh quest for a No. 5 or No. 6 to partner Suresh Raina, it also leaves the regular No. 4 Ajinkya Rahane in a quandary. One can barely protest when the skipper exercises the absolute authority of calling the shots, and refuses to bench either of Rohit Sharma or Shikhar Dhawan in order to accommodate Rahane at the top.
The Rahane conundrum
The mention of Rahane brings us back to the original question regarding Dhoni’s captaincy. Among the foremost positives in Dhoni’s ‘gharana’ of cricket lies his patronization of talent. The mismanagement of Rahane, therefore, has been tremendously shocking to say the least.
It is not unknown that the captain is vociferous about the batting order of the team, and despite players’ suggestions, it is him who makes the final decision. During the recent ICC World Cup, Dhoni’s reluctance to alter with the Dhawan-Rohit combination at the top after Rohit had ‘put his hand up’ when asked to open resulted in the demotion of Rahane to No. 4.
It is an open secret that Rahane struggles to start an innings against the slow bowlers, and his consistent shortcomings in the middle-order illustrate the fact. On the contrary, his stupendous run in the IPL as an opener for the Rajasthan Royals over the last few seasons has class written all over it.
In addition, both his international hundreds have come while batting at the top of the order. Rahane was essentially a groomed top-order batsman whom Dhoni was trying to house at No. 4.
Till the beginning of the World Cup, Rahane had been sent out at No. 4 nine times. His figures are listed below.
| Opposition | Runs | Balls Faced |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 8 | 17 |
| New Zealand | 7 | 13 |
| New Zealand | 36 | 42 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 14 |
| New Zealand | 2 | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 73 | 83 |
| Sri Lanka | 22 | 27 |
| Pakistan | 23 | 50 |
| England | 41 | 47 |
Since February 2015, it has been something like the following.
| Opposition | Runs | Balls Faced |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 79 | 60 |
| West Indies | 14 | 34 |
| Ireland | 33* | 28 |
| Zimbabwe | 19 | 24 |
| Bangladesh | 19 | 37 |
| Australia | 44 | 68 |
| Bangladesh | 9 | 25 |
It took Dhoni precisely 16 matches to infer what most already had. "We all felt that Ajinkya would do really well as a third opener," he explained when asked about Rahane’s omission from the playing XI for the second Bangladesh ODI. "We have seen that he plays a lot better when there is pace on a wicket. Whenever he has played at No. 4 or No. 5, if the wicket is slow, then he struggles to rotate the strike freely. Especially when he is just starting his innings, he has a bit of trouble. It is not easy."
While he went on to admit that Rohit is ideally a middle-order batsman, his rationalization of Rohit having ‘earned his spot’ and refusal to swap him with Rahane at No. 4 has effectively resulted in the most consistent Indian player in the last one year being kept out of the team. No logic, however solid, will be enough to justify Rahane’s continued exclusion at a time that India is yearning for quality.
The unwillingness to alter the team
One of the primary shortcomings of Dhoni’s leadership has been his aversion towards altering the playing XI and even the squad. Although the selectors are mainly responsible for deciding on the squad, it is conceivable that someone of the stature of Dhoni might have a considerable say in the selection process.
If you compares the World Cup squad with the one for the ODIs in Bangladesh, you would essentially find the same group of players. Further, no less than 12 players from this squad had been in the squad for the New Zealand tour a year or so prior to the World Cup.
While the New Zealand series had been a complete failure, the World Cup campaign, albeit reasonably successful, had emphasized the consistent underperformance of several players like Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny. Yet both continue to feature quite regularly in the team, defying every possible justification.
Since his shoulder injury, Jadeja’s inefficacy has been striking – 10 wickets at an average of 49.50 and 113 runs in 8 innings with his highest score being 32.
Mohit Sharma, after a decent showing in the World Cup, had a forgettable IPL where he averaged 34.35 with the ball at an economy of 8.43.
Axar Patel, whose IPL fame had temporarily reassured every Indian about the conclusion of the quest for the elusive No. 7 in the Indian team, has had an ineffective presence recently, while Binny’s pedestrian pace and unreliable batting have hardly fortified the line-up.
Dhoni’s obsession for an extra batsman, thereby resulting in loading the team up with all-rounders, is well known. The Chennai Super Kings side vouches for that fact. However, what Dhoni needs to realize is that Indian all-rounders are never going to be in the league of a Shane Watson or a Corey Anderson. At best, they resemble their English counterparts in the 1990s, whose presence in the XI hardly made a difference.
Just like Pawan Negi couldn’t produce the goods during the IPL, the likes of Jadeja, Axar and Binny cannot on the international platform. They have been tried and tested and found to be wanting.
Let us have a look at the current series. After three matches, Jadeja, who is now a mere shadow of his former self, has figures of 15-0-76-1, Axar 16-1-92-2 and Binny 6-0-41-1. Meanwhile Suresh Raina, whose role in the team is basically that of a finisher, has returned figures of 20-0-99-3.
It does not take an astrophysicist to figure out that there is a lack of quality in the bowling department, especially when your part-time spinner has to bowl 20 overs in a three-match series.
Dhoni’s argument that “this is the best we have got” falls flat on its face as none of the above players have proved to be significantly better than the others in the domestic circuit. And if IPL performances are anything to go by, Ishwar Pandey – if not anybody else – deserves a spot in the squad. Perhaps it’s time for Dhoni to revisit the old strategy of putting faith in specialists.
Calling the wrong shots
A captain, they say, is only as good as his team. To single out Dhoni and heap the blame on him for the predicament Indian cricket is in would be a folly. The whole team has to bear the brunt for the humiliating series loss to Bangladesh. The batsmen lost the plot, the bowlers scarcely knew what they were doing, and 11 disinterested men trudged on the field to indulge in routine fielding.
Having said that, Dhoni’s field placing and bizarre calls did not help either. Just a slip and a leg slip for the opening batsmen in the very first over of the innings, that too after having posted a 300+ target on the board, is hardly what you would call aggressive captaincy.
Just as peculiar was his decision of opening the attack with Binny in spite of having a faster bowler in Umesh Yadav. Unsurprisingly, the former had figures of 3-0-25-0 after five overs of the Bangladesh innings.
What kind of captain is the one who does not call the right shots?
The final verdict
Dhoni’s passive style of captaincy has been much criticized lately, as has been his obstinacy of fielding the same team over and over again. The decline of Indian cricket has been steady, and it is of utmost importance to arrest it with immediate effect.
With an alternate option in Kohli waiting in the wings – something that hadn’t been there right after the 8-0 loss overseas a few years back – I feel this is the right time to pass on the baton.
Kohli’s approach, as was apparent in the Australia Test series, is markedly different from what Indian fans have been subjected to under Dhoni in the past couple of years. While it is certainly too early to rate it as good or bad, I’m of the opinion that a change will not hurt.
The change, I repeat, is necessary not because India lost a series against a weaker team – for that will hardly solve the deeper issues – but because India requires a different viewpoint and Kohli’s vision as a skipper deserves a go. Dhoni’s presence as a glovesman and batsman is of course desirable, since the alternatives – Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik or even Sanju Samson and Robin Uthappa – lack both experience and consistency at the highest stage.
It’s imperative for Dhoni not to make a hasty call, for the next ODI series that India will play will be held no sooner than October, now that the Zimbabwe tour is most likely to be canceled by the BCCI. However, it remains to be seen whether Dhoni pulls another rabbit out of the hat by relinquishing the captaincy one fine morning, just like the way he retired from Test cricket completely out of the blue.