Dhoni as India Test captain: One of the best, not best ever

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  • Is MS Dhoni the greatest Indian Test cricket captain? Rahul Dravid and Souralay Ganguly are also contenders.

    India captain MS Dhoni’s retirement from Test cricket came as a shock to some but a relief to others; the debate about whether he is India’s best ever Test captain will drag on forever. Many has an inkling that a change was in the offing and that came after India’s well fought draw at the MCG, the BCCI announcing that Dhoni will retire from Test cricket with immediate effect and that Virat Kohli will take over as captain for the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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    Just after India won the World Cup back in 2011 and held the No.  1 spot in Test cricket, India’s greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar mentioned that Dhoni was the best captain he played under, while another legend Sourav Ganguly described Dhoni as the best captain India had ever had.

    RISE AND FALL

    Between December 2009 and August 2011, India probably played the best cricket in the nation’s history. In Tests, they recorded 10 wins and lost only three, which included series victories in New Zealand (their first in 37 years) and the West Indies, as well as a drawn series in South Africa. Dhoni first took the reins temporarily back in 2008 from Anil Kumble for the third and final Test against South Africa, which India won – drawing  the series as a result. A few months later, Dhoni was appointed India’s Test captain and led his country to a series win against visitors Australia.

    There were no obvious signs of slowing down but just a hint of fatigue was creeping in having played non-stop since 2008. India were playing their 2000th Test at Lord’s, also the 200th Test against England. Dhoni and India had the perfect combination of youth and experience in his squad, some of them the best batsmen in the world and though India never had the best bowling unit, expectations were very high. What happened next could be termed as India’s worst performance in an overseas Test. Given their status in Test cricket at the time, India embarrassingly lost 4-0 in England and a similar scoreline followed in Australia a few months later.

    Revenge was on the cards when England visited India, but Alastair Cook’s men managed to earn a dramatic 2-1 series win. However, a few months later India managed to whitewash Australia 4-0 at home. In between all this, critics questioned Dhoni’s tactics and pressure mounted for him to step down but by then Dhoni had become India’s most successful Test captain, surpassing Ganguly’s record of 21 Test wins.

    HOW DOES DHONI’S CAPTAINCY RANK?

    Dhoni is listed fourth behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh as cricket’s most successful Test captain on home soil. With 21 wins, he is way ahead of the next best captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who secured 13 wins. However, Dhoni’s overseas record was worrying with just 6 wins in 30 games, losing 15. India performed better under Ganguly in overseas Tests with 11 wins out of 28 matches and also securedfive  wins out of 17 under Rahul Dravid. Moreover, India suffered 13 losses out of 18 overseas Tests after winning the World Cup in 2011.

    Dravid’s record was among the best compared to other captains who have led India in at least 10 Test matches outside the sub-continent. ‘The Wall’ was the only skipper to win more Tests than he lost in these conditions with 3 victories, 2 losses and 5 draws. Though Dhoni won four Tests, more than any other captain in these conditions, his win-loss ratio is 0.3, one of the worst compared to his predecessors. Dhoni’s inability to draw unwinnable matches highlights his loss percentage – 54%, the second highest in the list.

    RETIREMENT

    Dhoni’s decision to call it quits attracted mixed reaction from the cricketing world. Former cricketers and the BCCI praised Dhoni for his commitment and consistency towards the team while others felt he could carry on for few more years. Dhoni’s departure from Tests without much fanfare showcases his simplicity but the exact reason is not yet known.

    There was speculation that all is not well in the dressing room but the Indian team management unsurprisingly remained tight-lipped on the rumours. Dhoni himself avoided talk of his retirement during the post-match press conference and distanced himself from the media. Nevertheless, having played 90 Tests, there is no question Dhoni can be ranked among the greatest Indian players and one of the finest captains in India’s Test history.

    Diving out of the spotlight: India captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket in December.

    KEY NUMBERS

    4876  Runs that Dhoni scored in Tests, which is the third best for a wicketkeeper, after Adam Gilchrist (5570) and Mark Boucher (5515). Among Indian wicketkeepers it's easily the best, well clear of Kirmani's 2759 and Farrokh Engineer's 2611.

    47.21 Dhoni's batting average in Tests in Asia. In 72 innings he scored six hundreds and 18 fifties. He played exactly 72 innings outside Asia as well, but didn't manage a single hundred, and averaged 29.79. His highest outside Asia was 92, at The Oval in 2007.

    3454 – Runs scored by Dhoni as Test captain, which is the highest among Indian captains. Sunil Gavaskar is next, with 3449 runs in 47 Tests as captain, while Azharuddin made 2856 runs in 47 matches. Dhoni averaged 40.63 as captain; when not captain, his average dropped to 33.06.

    2871 – The Test runs Dhoni scored from the No. 7 position, the highest for India at that slot; Kapil Dev is next with an aggregate of 2861. No other Indian batsman has scored more than 800 runs from that position.

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