Cricinfo - Blogs - Different Strokes - There's something about Dhoni

It was interesting to see that the first person he singled out for blame was himself. He admitted to not doing as well as he would have liked, to not playing the sort of explosive innings that his early reputation was forged on and for getting it slightly wrong with certain tactical decisions. He wasn’t necessarily apologising because he doesn’t need to. Why apologise? He didn’t mean to bat poorly or make tactical errors – it just happened. That's T20 cricket for you - it's a very fine line between winning and losing. So he didn’t apologise but he still expressed regret and took responsibility.

Even on the field, there’s a lot to admire about his captaincy style. He manages to strike that delicate balance between being animated and excited without crossing the line to becoming hyper-excited or irrationally emotional. Watching from afar, you sense the players trust him, respect him but do not fear him. Chris Gayle errs on the side of being ‘ultra cool’ although the word on the street is that his players adore him. To be fair, his style tends to suit the West Indian cricketing culture where almost all of their captains were strong men who rarely got flustered. I can’t think of the last Windies skipper who ‘lost it’ in public, despite some terrible floggings in recent times. Even Lara, tortured genius that he was, displayed great manners and dignity throughout his difficult reign.

Back to Dhoni though – I just hope that the post-mortem from the T20 disappointments don’t go too far and see him removed from the job. He’s a breath of fresh air for the game and it continues India's recent tradition of captains who command respect. Dravid and Kumble were both men who believed that to be strong did not mean you had to throw your weight around like a bully. Both quintessential gentlemen. Like them, Dhoni appears strong enough to stand up to any international captain but affable enough to make every effort to get on with them too. You get the sense that he commands genuine respect from the opposition.

He might have to look at his own game and ponder on whether the captaincy is curbing those wonderful attacking instincts that announced his arrival on the world stage. He is probably more reliable these days but does India need that from him? I would prefer to see someone else playing the Mr Reliable role and Dhoni returning to being the powerhouse middle-order batsman who can transform a game in a few brutal minutes. He is probably less feared today than he was two years ago. Ask most opposition teams which Dhoni they’d fear more and I suspect it would be Dhoni Mark I.

The partnership with Gary Kirsten should be a good one for India. Kirsten was an uncomplicated player without frills or ego but his effectiveness as a very fine batsman was never questioned. Like Dhoni, he seems to be an essentially decent man who operates without histrionics and public displays of petulance or triumphalism. For India’s sake, I hope the partnership is allowed to continue. For the sake of world cricket, it’s important to have two strong men of integrity leading the most influential team in the world, on and off the field.

I just hope the team balance allows the real MS Dhoni to show himself again. I’m talking about the man with wrists of steel who uses a short backlift to muscle the ball over the boundary. India has plenty of others who can play the percentages but when a player like Dhoni comes along, it would be a crying shame to shackle his instincts. Maybe that’s what captaincy does for you. Maybe that’s why Adam Gilchrist never really fancied the job. Mind you, it hasn’t worried Chris Gayle too much – he still only knows one way and it is that reputation that makes teams nervous. Just knowing that Gayle might go off is enough to put you off your game. Dhoni has that same power but it's been locked away for some time. Unleash the beast I say.......

I'd agree with the sentiment that India shouldn't crucify a good -- and to date reasonably successful captain, at least in ODIs -- because of one disappointing T20 tournament. However, I would disagree with the inference, indirect though it may be, that India lost because Dhoni (and others) chose the percentage game over the big hitting one. India lost in this tournament because it (and especially Dhoni) could NOT play the percentage game effectively. Look at the number of dot balls played out by India in each of its Super 8 matches, and compare that to the margin of defeat -- you'll get your answer. India didn't HAVE to have Dhoni the basher, it could have done very well with Dhoni the (recent) master of ones and twos. In situations where the ball was bouncing (vs WI, ENG) or spinning (SA) it was India's inability to effectively rotate the strike that made really piled on the pressure and made the real difference.

Yup, Dhoni certainly is an exceptional man. Sachin Tendulkar to Kirsten to good ol' Greg Chappell have also acknowledged that in the past. And fortunately no one in the BCCI or the selection panel has turned against him (or the coach).

I'm really looking forward to how he and team India look to redeem themselves in the WI series. It's going to be a challenge for sure, especially without Sachin / Sehwag / Zak. But I have faith in guys like Yuvraj, Dhoni, Gambhir, Rohit and Bhajji. I'm sure they're all hurting at this point. And really wanting to reassert themselves.

As for Dhoni the batsman, I agree he should "unleash the beast" (nicely said!) more in T20 cricket. But in ODIs, I think he's been doing exceptionally well, despite his self-restraint. (I think he is still rated among the top 3 ODI batsmen, as per ICC rankings) But should be really interesting to see how he bats, and at which number, in the WI. (My top 6 would be M Vijay, Gambhir, Rohit, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan).

oh dear, Dhoni is a class act and no doubts. I absolutely enjoyed his captaincy in Australia and against Aus. at home test series in 2008. He is superb, but he has totally ruined it all in this world cup, anybody else couldve made better choices but Dhoni was just not thinking and terriable at decisions. Why not using Ojha enough. Ojha should in team at any 20-20 game against any team. Why didn't bowl Sharma in opening spells? Kept Yuvi and Yousuf for too late for big hitting. Yuvi should bat at 3 and Yusuf at 4, Raina and Dhoni could do it at lower order when runrate is high and just have to go through with shots. Y Praveen Kumar was not there? I think he couldve opened with Ishant sharma with ball swinging eartly on. Why Zaheer even play T20? I am sorry Zaheer just doesnt suit in T20s. He could be ok in odis and test, but not with these. Overall, pathetic and nonsense decisions and selections. I'M sorry mr. cool, youve made a mess of the whole t20s in england. SIMPLY worst decisions

I am sorry. Just who is asking for Dhoni's head? I haven't seen a single article anywhere that asks for him to be removed from the captaincy! In fact, this sounds like deliberate defensiveness from his fans - "look everyone's after my hero" type of self pity. Dhoni has had the longest honeymoon period of any India captain I remember. The press loved him to death - to the extent of not question his defensive captaincy tactics in tests where he preferred winning 1-0 rather than 2-0, and his sorry batting form in both Test and ODIs. He has been given a free ride so far. This caused him to get a swollen head and an unjustified arrogance! This T20 workd cup was the FIRST time anyone has actually questioned his tactics, or his temperament. And what does he do? Whine, overreact dramatically, call the entire team to "prove" they are united (protesting too much) and then was rude to the same journos who had elevated him to his hitherto godly status! It's ain't easy being captain - ask Sourav!

India have no divine right to win
Memo to Indian cricket supporters: it is time to grow up. Sport is not about winning, it is about losing. Twelve teams have been taking part in this tournament and only one of them will return winners. The rest will be losers.
They will lose in various ways - some thrillingly, some abjectly - but lose they will. It is what makes the moments of triumph all the more special.
After all, if winning was all that there was, what would there be to celebrate? Indian supporters, the most immature in cricket, cannot seem to grasp this simple fact.
So where once temples were erected in Ranchi to deify its most famous son, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, now effigies are burnt. Once the Army had to be called out because the mob had laid homage to a hair salon where Dhoni was having his luxuriant locks lopped off, but veneration has now turned to vituperation.
Burning effigies of losing captains on the sub-continent is nothing new, as Wasim Akram and countless others would testify. It was, though, more understandable at a time when Indian cricket was looking to flex its muscles. In India, as elsewhere, cricket was part of a wider struggle for independence and respect. That battle has been fought and won long ago.
Everybody now accepts that India is the epicentre of the world game, just as everybody accepts India as an economic and political powerhouse. There is no more powerful cricketing nation on earth, either financially or in terms of playing resources. But that does not bring an entitlement to victory.
It is time for Indian cricket supporters to grow up and accept defeat as an essential part of the game. Sport is not about winning; it is about losing. Trust me, we in English cricket know more about that than anyone.

I think Dhoni is highly over-rated, both as a captain and as a batsman. His captaincy was brutally exposed in the T20 world cup. His decisions to elevate Ravindra Jadega, leaving out Praveen Kumar, bowling Ishant Sharma for a full quota of 4 overs even though he went for 9 runs an over...his list of blunders can go on and on. And add to that his batting woes. When India needed 12 runs an over, Dhoni was busy playing himself in!! Whoever invented the role of a sheet anchor in 20-20 cricket!!! Dhoni was never a technically correct batsman. He neither has the technique of Dravid nor the brilliance of Yuvraj. His batting has been painfully slow for some time now. So if he can't bat well and if he can't even marshall the brilliant resources he has, he deserves every bit of criticism that is coming his way.

MS Dhoni is an impressive leader and highly skilled cricketer and India is most fortunate to have such a gem at its cricketing helm. Whilst Dhoni hasn't been in his best form during the 20/20 format this year, he doesn't deserve the flak he is currently receiving. People have very short memories. Teams seldom keep winning ad infinitum and it will become even harder with the three forms of the game coming more into play now with each requiring slightly different skill sets. It was obvious that fatigue, injury and lack of preparation time were all major factors in India's recent departure from the 20/20 WC earlier than expected. The BCCI needs to take very good care of their most valuable asset in Captain Dhoni with far more sensible scheduling of tours, otherwise he will soon be in serious danger of 'burn out'. If this were to happen it would be a shame not only for Indian cricket but world cricket as the game needs such characters at their best. Good luck to young Dhoni and team.

i've seen some ppl saying that dhoni's had a free ride, tht criticizing him is ok b'coz its professional sport nd u either "perform or perish"....
a free ride...a skipper with a more than 60 % win % over two years is not getting a free ride.....

nd all those comparing him with ganguly should go check ganguly's captaincy stats against test-playing sides.... it's revealing....there's a major drop in his win/loss ratio if u take out the bangladeshs nd the zimbabwes of the world frm his captaincy records....

dhoni's done a fine job..better than most of his predecessors... he should b given atleast a second chance (going by ppl's reactions it seems like we hv had gr8 results b4 dhoni took over!!!! :o...but even then he does deserve a second chance....doesn't he????)

Nice article. I could not find time to put up a blog post along these lines after India's elimination. I would hardly have been this good at analysing Dhoni's specialities. MSD's successful tactics from the past have largely been based on luck that some captains seem to be entitled to. But while he was lucky without being brave in some cases, he was also lucky for being brave in most cases. That should be good enough for a 2yr report card.

While in this tourney he wasn't particularly brave and set defensive batting orders, his responses before and after the tournament to media were quite revealing. It shows that he treats media like the guy on the road - in other words, he is not too bothered by what they are going to say about his acts. He may have lost the world cup but he must retain this approach if he is going to be the captain courageous of the past again. Shelf lives of captains are only as long as they can put off the headlines of tomorrow while making an on-field decisions