Watching Dhoni play under Captain Kohli will be interesting
A new chapter begins in Indian cricket on Sunday as one of India’s most successful captains, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will be playing under Virat Kohli in the shorter format of cricket. The last fortnight in Indian cricket has been indeed rocking, with action away from the field holding centre stage.
When Dhoni announced his decision to give up captaincy and yet make himself available to play under Kohli, it was being read as a strange decision. Some said, Dhoni wanted to “hang on” and his shelf life was actually coming to an end!
Well, it has been quite different going by what the protagonists have said. Cricket in India has changed, and the old intrigue is out. It’s not like the old days of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev exchanging the baton as leaders.
Kohli has been very vocal while talking about Dhoni. His decision to use social media and say laudatory stuff about Dhoni was not just to engage in a good PR exercise but how he respects his former captain. Kohli was emphatic when he said Dhoni would always remain his captain.
It sent out a right message at large as for long people have speculated at length on what was the relationship between the two. In the last three days, three people have spoken to the media.
First, coach Anil Kumble was in front of the mike and two days before the first ODI against England, Dhoni spoke at length. To be sure, Dhoni has said everything we did not know and the fact he was willing to give up captaincy last year itself is big news.
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| When Dhoni announced his decision to give up captaincy and yet make himself available to play under Kohli, it was being read as a strange decision. |
Call it a good rapport between Dhoni and the new set of selectors or the way cricket is now discussed at the top, the truth is the Indian cricket board (BCCI) wanted Dhoni to handle the ODI and T20 teams till recently.
For his part, Dhoni has been brutally honest when he mentioned that in India split captaincy does not work. It’s a statement you could read into at depth. It meant when Dhoni was in command, he wanted to lead in all fronts till such time as he felt Kohli was read to shoulder Test captaincy.
Recently, there have been some speculative stories on how the selectors wanted Dhoni to quit! All that is fiction as had that been the case, Dhoni would not be airing his views in such a clear and bold manner.
If you flip through the annals of history, succession battles are very common. Be it politics, sport or even corporate empires, it has never been easy for the new boss to settle down. The best example in recent times would be the Tata group where after Cyrus Mistry was ejected, so much of dirty linen was washed in public. Luckily, matters have now settled down.
It was interesting to note what Dhoni said on how a wicket-keeper is invariably the vice-captain. The wicket-keeper is in the best position in the field and is seen constantly chatting with the players. One can well expect Dhoni to be the same person who talks to Kohli and the others in the squad.
The real challenge for Dhoni from here onwards is to again prove his worth as a wicket-keeper and how he can still bat well. Minus captaincy, there will be less pressure on him and how he discovers his love for cricket all over again as a pure performer on the field will be interesting to watch. In terms of fitness and keeping wickets, he has been the same energetic person. With the Young Turks also waiting to be counted as wicket-keeper-batsman, how Dhoni bats will be fascinating.
The situation gets a bit different from here on as Kohli will decide where Dhoni fits in the batting order. Whenever you have a change in leadership, the style of functioning changes. Till now, in the shorter formats, Dhoni did what he wanted. He could move himself up the batting order if he wanted. We will get to see two hard professionals in Kohli and Dhoni perform together.
By accepting to play under a player he has groomed, Dhoni is not averse to change. Not many in sport want to step away from the limelight of captaincy and yet contribute purely as a performer.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)
Indian cricket has seen Mohammad Azharuddin and even Sachin Tendulkar play under different leaders without much trouble. To see Dhoni do that will be interesting as he has invariably looked the master in the field.
More than critics, Dhoni knows how important it is for him to now perform on a regular basis with the bat and behind the stumps. Interesting, isn’t it?
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)