MS Dhoni - Why he is still the man for India

Tanay Tiwari 17:36 02/11/2016
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  • MS Dhoni still has a lot to offer to the Indian LOI side.

    When MS Dhoni flicked the ball on to the stumps after a feeble throw from Dhawal Kulkarni, who was standing at deep fine-leg, to catch Ross Taylor short of his crease in the fourth ODI, there was astonished silence everywhere. How could he?

    Someone near me said, ‘because he is MSD’.

    That is probably the most appropriate summation of the magic that the Indian captain conjures on the field. And his ability to keep doing that consistently is perhaps the biggest reason why, in over a decade that Dhoni has played for India, we haven’t had a better package when it comes to a wicket-keeper batsman.

    All of that combined makes Dhoni an inextricable cog in the Indian ODI side, with no equivalent replacement (let alone a better one) in sight at the moment.

    It is not only about Dhoni the keeper but also about Dhoni the batsman that makes him an indispensable part of the Indian limited overs side. Now, before you frown upon that statement based on his recent batting performances, have a look at these numbers.

    Dhoni has the most number of runs batting at No.6 in world cricket at an average of over 45, which is phenomenal. This means that for a major part of his career the Ranchi-born cricketer has not only kept wickets and captained the side but also batted in testing times mostly with lesser batsmen.

    What is more astounding are Dhoni’s knocks further lower down the order. On a testing morning in Chennai, against Pakistan in 2012, India were reduced to 29/5.

    Dhoni came into bat and constructed partnerships with Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin, and scored a battling century. This also made Dhoni the only ODI captain to ever score a ton batting at No.7.

    All of these numbers only get better as Dhoni climbs up the batting order. No.4, where Dhoni promoted himself to in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand, is like a personal fiefdom for him. Batting there, Dhoni averages the most amongst batsmen with at least 1000 ODI runs at that said batting position, with an average of almost 61 from over 25 innings.

    An ageing Dhoni, though, knows that the job is only going to get tougher for him and he is erudite enough to acknowledge that which is why he has promoted himself up the batting order to ensure that by the time he is ready to bow out, there is a finisher who is ready to take up his job in the Indian side.

    But what about his glove work? Is there an Indian wicket-keeper out there who is ready to raise his hand and say he is ready to take up Dhoni’s gloves? At the moment, no.

    Wriddhiman Saha was the first choice as soon as Dhoni retired from Test cricket and to be absolutely fair to Saha, he has probably done everything asked of him. He has kept very well and has also scored decently. Age, though, is not on the Bengal keeper’s side.

    Naman Ojha, who proved to be a valuable asset for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their successful IPL campaign, has similar quandaries to answer as well.

    An obvious choice then points towards KL Rahul, who is perhaps the most improved batsman in recent times. But, Rahul’s limited chances behind the wickets have been far from impressive, and to fill Dhoni’s shoes is going to be an uphill task for the Karnataka cricketer.

    Another potential option is Sanju Samson who dazzles and fades so consistently with the bat that he will have to pull more than one rabbit out of his hat to get a call-up.

    One name which has been doing the rounds more than most is that of Rishabh Pant, who scored an excellent triple century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy against a formidable Maharashtra attack. But, like so many of his contemporaries, to extoll him at the moment would be to invest in a start-up which is yet to draft its vision and mission statement.

    You can probably list an array of players who are eligible for Dhoni’s spot in the Indian side, but none of them come across as a better package than the veteran which only goes on to show how pivotal Dhoni has been to the Indian limited overs side. He has kept wickets, batted lower down the order when he could have easily promoted himself and captained the side through it all.

    And down the years, the unconventional batsman and an even more unorthodox wicket-keeper has worked wonders for India as a result of which the Men in Blue are so used to extraordinary results from their man behind the stumps.

    Someone will have to perform out of his skin to be considered in the reckoning for Dhoni’s spot in the limited overs international side. For the moment, Dhoni’s unorthodoxy is indispensable, and there’s a strange sense of comfort in knowing that.

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