In Stats: Dhoni’s Performance as Captain & Batting at Number 4
Arun Gopalakrishnan looks at the decisions MS Dhoni has to make after the ongoing ODI series against Australia.
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- Statistician Arun Gopalakrishnan looks at the decisions MS Dhoni has to make after the ongoing ODI series against Australia.
- Arun cracks down Dhoni’s performance as captain and player in 2015.
Post a very successful run at the ICC World Cup 2015, India have had a very poor run in ODIs. And the man at the helm of the Indian team, MS Dhoni who has led India to several highs over the past nine years, has had to go through a flurry of losses in the past one year.
Given the drastic fall in the Indian team’s success, there have been questions posed in certain quarters about MS Dhoni’s place in the team – as wicketkeeper-batsman and captain. This, despite the men who matter – the BCCI top brass and the Indian National Selectors – backing the skipper completely.
What has also contributed to question marks over Dhoni’s place in the ODI team has been his form with the bat in the recent past. For a man who was considered to the best finisher in world cricket not too long ago, Dhoni’s willow hasn’t done too much of the talking in the last twelve months.
Given that Dhoni generally bats at number six, there is very little time to settle in; it is about putting bat to ball and starting to find the boundaries instantly. Dhoni hasn’t managed to do that too well in the last twelve months; off the 17 times he batted in 2015, there were 11 innings in which his strike rate was well under a run-a-ball.
The passionate Indian fan always expects the best. And in the case of Dhoni, the standards were set by Dhoni himself. And therein lies the problem.
As in life, so in sport, one tends to change over a period of time. There is the process of maturing in life, which applies just as well to sport. With age, a player’s reflexes tend to slow down a bit, and fatigue sets into the body.
Those who question MS Dhoni’s abilities will do well to understand that he is just like all of us: just like watching computer screens takes the toll on our eyes, just like pollution takes toll on the traffic policemen patrolling the streets, just like continuous hours of teaching/lecturing takes a toll on the vocal chords of teachers, so too playing sport as a professional takes a toll on a sportsman’s body. When, in most walks of life, people stay in their jobs despite a drop in performance, why then should MS Dhoni be asked to quit?
And in any case, being only 34 years old, he still has plenty to offer. If MS Dhoni the finisher isn’t working, it is only fair, that a player who has served India for well over eleven years, be given an opportunity to work in another role within the team.
Where Dhoni is concerned, the realization has set in. No, it is not that realization that he does not have the hunger anymore. He became aware that his body cannot cope with the demands of all international cricket and hence retired from Tests.
He has possibly realized that he cannot pull out his trademark helicopters or send the ball out of the ground as frequently as he has done in the past. And it is possibly from this realization that he has expressed his desire to bat at number four. Being the brisk runner that he is, Dhoni can fit into that role very well.
Batting at four, which will generally give him the chance to bat in the middle overs, Dhoni can still knock the ball in the gaps and keep the scoreboard ticking – apart from picking up the odd boundary.
One also ought to remember, Dhoni, apart from being captain, is the team’s wicketkeeper, and he is doing absolutely fine on that front.
It is not that India have players coming out of an assembly line, ready to stake a claim in the Indian team. We are not spoilt for choices, definitely not when it comes to replacing a player of the calibre of MS Dhoni.
Furthermore, for a player who led India to a World Cup win (2011), a World T20 win (2007), a win in the ICC Champions Trophy (2013), took India to the number one ranking in Tests and captained India to victories in several other competitions, it is grossly unfair to not back him in these difficult times.
Decisions facing MS Dhoni:
- Is he happy batting at number six?
- If not, which position would he prefer to bat at?
- How long does he want to play on?
Decisions for Indian cricket fans:
- Aren’t Indian cricket fans being greedy in setting MS Dhoni of 2008-2014 as a benchmark & expecting him to perform to that standard, though he has aged, just like every other human?
- Doesn’t MS Dhoni, who has accomplished so much, deserve an olive branch?
- Will you be happy to see him bat in a different role, possibly at number 4?
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