Dhoni, finisher par excellence, but given his onerous responsibilities the title of an ‘enforcer’ would probably have been more appropriate. Not only did he ensure that the matches ended on the right note, during numerous crises, he shielded the less able, guiding the team towards safer shores, before launching the final assault. Age has evidently blunted his reflexes if not his instincts and rendered him less efficacious in certain situations. This has been more than obvious during the last couple of years and the understanding is that the management, having realized this, has customized a role for him so that his remarkable abilities are put to best use in the changing circumstances.
This, by general opinion was done, not to ensure that he retain his position in the side, but to facilitate a smoother transition of the replacements under his expert tutelage. Several aspirants and manifold attempts later (Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav among others) a competent successor was yet to be identified. The approaching WC 2019 necessitated that the process be expedited and Kedar Jadhav was the man chosen to do the job, amid several reservations. The presence of Hardik Pandya and the selection of Dinesh Karthik was expected to reduce Dhoni’s burden and help him focus on providing the steady hand rather than take on the demolition job.
In any case the inconsistent performances of the middle order meant that in the case of the obvious eventuality of an early collapse Dhoni would be required to step into the shoes of an anchor and shepherd the team as he did earlier. This, in view of his diminishing strike rate, was right up his alley and a job that he was expected to relish. However, fate and a fragile middle conspired to force the iceman to freeze his plan to transform, and return to his original garb, that of the finisher. This, as is his wont, the man took on willingly but form and fluency are not perpetual partners even of the best, least of all those on the wrong side of 35. The unkindest cut of all delivered by the hatchet men in the commentary box, who conspired to make his task all the more herculean with their ill advised comments.
Their arguments against his scoring rate (which are admittedly low) fail to take into account the performances of the support cast which have not exactly set the stands on fire. That and the presence of a very long tail make the job of the finisher extremely demanding. The innings’ against Afghanistan and England were then ones that Dhoni copped a lot of criticism for, some justified but unfair to the extent that that there were other culprits in the mix. A responsible steady influence is what Dhoni is supposed to be and to be fair he did take on that role.
Lack of “intent” was the issue an aggressive approach might well have cost India the match against Afghanistan (given the final scoreline) and no prizes for guessing who would have been the designated ‘fall guy’. Against England the real efficacy of the cameos that the supposedly ‘explosive’ Hardik and Pant played can only be seen in light of a comparison with the 79 from Ben Stokes who blasted the daylights of the opposition and finished the game for them.
That the skills of Dhoni have diminished is an accepted fact and even he would be the first to accept it. Would it have been more practical to expect the dynamic cubs who have set the IPL circuit on storm to don the aggressive role and take the team across the finishing line rather than succumb to the pressure!!! They could do so in the belief that Dhoni could hold up his end, Could Dhoni expect a similar performance from Bhuvi, Shami et al.? Dhoni does not need the explosive knock to justify his place in the team, his keeping and mentoring skills and the steady knock are enough to justify his place; can the same be said for Hardik and Pant? The past is a reasonable cushion for Dhoni but let’s be honest, in the international circuit Hardik and Pant are works in progress with no match winning performances to speak of. Their potential inspires but the time has come to put in that performance that secures belief.
A word of sanity from the otherwise Mr. Sanjay foot-in-the-mouth Manjrekar who says “It is really unfair that the focus is only on Dhoni because. if, at this stage of his career also, there aren’t other batsmen around who can help India win matches, then it is not healthy for Indian cricket” and asks for people like KL Rahul to step up. ..
A word of advice though for the original Captain Cool. It is hard to forget your halcyon times but one would so wish that Dhoni not attempt to set the clock back by refusing those singles.
Article By : Shantanu Sharma
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