Suresh Raina saluted Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership skills and insisted he should not be judged on the basis of one series defeat against Bangladesh.
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The 34-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has been the most decorated Indian captain with 101 victories in 181 games. He has also overseen India’s success in 2007 World Twenty20, the 2011 Word Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. But Dhoni has come under fire for his inability to rally his troops against minnows Bangladesh as they crashed to two back to back defeats in the three-match series.
Clearly Dhoni is upset. Even a touch rattled. Very unlike him. This is the time to reach out to him not attack him. He needs grace & respect
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 23, 2015
Raina came out strongly in the defence of his captain yesterday and indicated that Dhoni set up yesterday’s win by coming in at No 4 and scoring a crucial 69 off 77 balls. It is a position where Dhoni has excelled scoring 1026 in 20 innings and has the best average (68.4) for a No 4 batsman in ODIs.
“You can’t disrespect Dhoni,” said Raina, who was adjudged man of the match for his all-round display. “One series loss won’t make him a bad captain. He is mentally very strong, plays with a positive mind and knows his game. He is also a good human being and a great captain.
“Dhoni’s knock gave the team confidence. He took the responsibility and set the tone for us. He needs to be credited for the way he has handled the team,” he added.
Dhoni believed once they had raised a good total, his bowlers were up for the challenge.
“What was important was to put runs on the board, which we did. If we give our bowlers those extra 10-15 runs, the game is on,” he said.
The Indian captain was not happy with the fast bowlers, especially Umesh Yadav, who conceded 33 runs in four overs. Yadav was dropped after a poor show in the first one-day when he gave away 58 runs in eight overs.
The 27-year-old did little to redeem himself after he was recalled yesterday and ended the series with a poor economy rate of 7.58.
“This win is good, but we need to make a decision if we want quick bowlers or if we want good bowlers even if they are not quick. We have been backing too many quick bowlers who haven’t been bowling well,” Dhoni said.
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza hailed his team and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who took 13 wickets in his debut series.
“The way we have played the whole series, we have a lot of positives,” Mortaza said. “Mustafizur has been brilliant. It was fantastic to see him bowl under such pressure.”
