Mahendra Singh Dhoni is batting on a sticky wicket these days following the series loss against Bangladesh and he appears to be losing grip over a format of the game that he once ruled.
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Dhoni has overseen embarrassing defeats in the past, the 4-0 losses against England and Australia in away series four years ago being his lowest phase as Test captain.
He survived that but it did little to improve India’s away Test record as they crashed to six more defeats until his sudden retirement in Australia last year.
A similar story appears to be unfolding now with the shocking results in Bangladesh, easily Dhoni’s worst as captain. The 34-year-old could always hide behind those Test defeats citing India’s poor away record and that it came against strong teams.
There is no such cover in the latest setback as India were humbled by a team that was placed seven places lower in the 12-team world ranking table.
While Bangladesh improved their position to No7 after the stunning victories, India clung on to the No2 spot (114 points) with No3 New Zealand and No4 South Africa (both on 112 points) breathing down their neck.
Captain’s prerogative: MSDhoni elevates himself to 4 in the batting order.
— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) June 21, 2015
There is no doubt that Bangladesh are on an upward swing but what rankles most is that the Indians did little to counter that apart from turning up for the games.
Their much-famed batting line-up fared miserably, the pace bowling was pedestrian and their body language was certainly not that of a World No2 with the margin of defeats – 79 runs and six wickets – highlighting it further.
Dhoni defended his captaincy saying that if success is guaranteed with him stepping down, then he is willing to quit. Yesterday, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin too made a stirring defence of the captain saying that Dhoni has been a fantastic leader and he is “willing to die” for him on the field.
It goes without saying that Dhoni remains the greatest ever Indian captain with the 2007 World Twenty20 and 2011World Cup the standout jewels in his much decorated cap.
But all that was in the past and the present is not looking all that rosy as he faces the biggest leadership crisis in the twilight of his career.
“It has been very significant what we have achieved.” – Mortaza hopes this is just the start for his side #BanvInd pic.twitter.com/9eAcg8Bu01
— ICC (@ICC) June 21, 2015
A captain is as good as his team, but if he cannot get the desired results then the voices seeking change are only going to get louder. Besides, Dhoni’s style is becoming a little predictable and it looks like he has nothing new to offer. Also, his moves – be it a bowling change or a field placement – that once fetched him rich dividends appear out of sync now.
The only ray of hope for Dhoni to salvage something out of this disaster is to win the final one-dayer of the three-match series against Bangladesh today by a thumping margin.
If he doesn’t then India will have to look for a new captain to lead them in limited-overs cricket including the World Twenty20 at home next year. Thankfully, India need not look too far as Virat Kohli, already handed the reins of the Test team, is waiting in the wings to take charge.
However, Dhoni, still has a lot to offer as a player, and he can continue to play with more freedom as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Life has indeed come a full circle for Dhoni as, ironically, the lowest point of his career comes against the same opposition that he made his one-day international debut.
