M.S. Dhoni must dig deep
He has to come up with the choice of players, batting positions, field placings and bowling changes that deliver results
NEW DELHI :
Within a fortnight of the start of the home season, Indian cricket finds itself on the backfoot. The Twenty20 (T20) series was surrendered easily, and defeat in the first One Day International (ODI) has put South Africa in a position of such strength that the immediate future looks gloomy.
This piece is being written on the eve of the second ODI (which was played on 14 October; it’s a five-match ODI series), and unless India can pull one back quickly, the situation will become even grimmer. More setbacks will mean that India will step into the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series—the marquee contest this season—under enormous pressure.
As it stands, South Africa are the world’s top-ranked Test side, with a 125 rating, and India are placed fifth, with 100. However, the teams ranked above India —Australia (106), England (102) and Pakistan (101)—are all within striking distance.
If South Africa can be beaten, India will have taken a major stride towards regaining the No.1 spot they held briefly in 2011, before the downward slide began. The big question, of course, is whether there is enough class and ammunition to achieve this.
It is impertinent cricketing logic to argue that performances in the limited-overs formats are a harbinger of what will happen in the five-day game. England, for instance, fared extremely poorly in the World Cup, but went on to win the Ashes against all odds and predictions.
And yet, form, rhythm, momentum and morale—individual and team—are not inconsequential even if the formats change. When a team is doing well, it exudes confidence and a sense of positivity that can be carried forward far more easily; a spate of defeats can leave players despondent and insecure, which hardly helps at the highest level in sport.
It is important to remember that South Africa haven’t lost a Test series overseas since 2006. It is also true that South Africa haven’t beaten India in India in several years. This is a shortcoming they will be eager to overcome on this tour.
The advantage India have traditionally enjoyed playing at home (though the series against England in 2012-13 was lost) must be seen in this perspective. Moreover, given the all-round strength of the South African side, the old stereotypes that their batsmen and bowlers will struggle on slow turners may be ill-founded.
India’s recovery to ensure they are in prime form for the Tests, therefore, has to begin in the ODI series. If the South Africans are runaway winners in this contest, they could well become invincible in the five-day contests too. But if India can turn the tables now, the two teams would go into the Tests on an even keel.
How to effect this turnaround is the challenge for the Indian team, more particularly for captain M.S. Dhoni. After a sizzling performance in the World Cup, which unfortunately ended prematurely when India lost in the semi-final to eventual winners Australia, the team has experienced a sudden and alarming slump.
A string of defeats against Bangladesh after the World Cup could be seen as an aberration but recent poor performances against South Africa suggest a defeatist trend. This is serious and this is where the captain’s role becomes crucial.
I wouldn’t pander to the knee-jerk reactions that have made Dhoni the cause of this trend. In my opinion, it’s been a collective team failure, for neither the batsmen nor the bowlers have quite measured up.
In the matches against South Africa, for instance, only Rohit Sharma among the batsmen and R. Ashwin among the bowlers have played to potential, while Ajinkya Rahane has just about held his own. That is not good enough to beat a top-notch side.
Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Suresh Raina, Stuart Binny, who form the nucleus of this young side, have all been way below par.
True, Dhoni’s form has been lukewarm, and on recent evidence it does seem that his prowess as a “finisher" is on the wane. But I don’t see any other player who can still measure up to Dhoni as batsman-wicketkeeper.
A great deal of the criticism against him is unwarranted. Yet, as captain, the buck must stop with Dhoni. He has to come up with the choice of players, batting positions, field placings and bowling changes that deliver results. Even more importantly, he has to be the inspiration, on and off the field, to get his team to regroup and rediscover the winning groove.
There was an alchemy to Dhoni’s methods and tactics, aided by a little luck admittedly, in the not-too-distant past which produced spectacular results. If that luck has deserted him, Dhoni must dig deep within himself and make his own luck.
That is the strength of character and mental toughness that the best sportsmen rely on in times of duress. If Dhoni can swing things around, he will salvage his position as player and captain in limited-overs cricket, and also give the team a boost for the Tests even if he does not play the five-day format any more.
Ayaz Memon is a senior columnist who writes on sports and other matters.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!