Dada on Dhoni

Dada has revealed his frank views on Dhoni a TV show.Dhoni's fans are infuriated that he is coming down on Dhoni at a wrong time while Dada's followers have no doubt that Dada's views portray the situation in the right way.

What did Dada say in the interview ? Can we take them on face value? How can I comment on matters relating to cricket when I have never played cricket myself? My answer is : One need not be a murderer to write a murder mystery.

Anchor:

Dhoni said, ‘We can't play Sachin and Sehwag because they are too slow that they give 25-30 extra runs’.

Dada:

The problem is too many people shooting their mouth of in the media.You got Gambhir going out in the media and saying that Dhoni should have finished it earlier.He should have gone and said in the dressing room, not in the media.Dhoni talking about his team's weakness in the media. If this goes on somebody will say , Dhoni is not good enough to play test cricket. Forget being a test captain, but test player.

My Opinion:

Has Dhoni handled the defeats well? Dhoni has been trying to placate the situation in his own way, but there has been too many defeats to defend. Clearly, Dhoni has lost the support of the senior members in the process.

Dhoni should not have said that, while Gambhir's intentions in questioning his captain’s ways defeat the purpose of being a part of a team. Who is going to moderate what players are supposed to say in the media? For me, it is not Dhoni alone, but the entire team that is to blame for the media fallout. There is a need to have a strict protocol in place on what can be said in a press conference by a player.

When Dhoni’s captaincy is attributed to India’s massive progress in the recent times, surely the string of losses should also be attributed to his captaincy. Captaincy is indeed a double edged sword.

Anchor:

What about Kapil Dev saying, ‘Dhoni’s actions reek of bias?’ What about playing Jadeja and not bowling him, insisting RP singh to be present in England, and sticking on to Raina ?

Rohit may lose his position, but he does not mention anything about Raina. Average follower believes Dhoni is biased towards Raina ? If that’s not bias what is it

Dada:

I won’t say it is bias. Every captain will have players whom he thinks will do the job. It has happened with Kapil dev, with me, with Dhoni and happens all around the world. What happens if they won’t deliver? That is where the captain needs to come in pick other players. Raina may be good, talented. But he’s at sea in conditions where there is pace and bounce. If he is not going to improve, he will be bounced out in 2015 as well.

His mind is on 2015 WC. No guarantee that Raina will be around in 2015. For me 2015 is too far. We did the same mistake in Greg Chappels time. We did not know what to go with Pick your players on current form, make sure they are playing well, and win games. Rohit has played almost hundred games, but apart from some sparkling fifties there is no consistency.

My Opinion:

Dada is being politically correct here by shedding a different angle to the bias issue. And it is indeed a better way to address a situation. There is no need for personal attacks, and his opinion does make a lot of sense especially with the 2007 WC debacle behind him. (That doesn’t stop Dada from attacking Greg Chappel on any given chance. He just loathes him).

Kapil Dev was a great player, but a man of sentiment. Many of his statements are loaded with multitude of emotions, there is no grey area. His statements are either white or black, and many times seeking attention. They say, if you want to win an argument, win over the opposition first.

Picking players on current form is a good strategy, especially with WC. I remember Australia picking Andy Bichel for 1999 WC, he never was and never turned out to be a great player, but he was a player on top form at that time. And Australia went on to reap rich rewards for his inclusion.

BCCI may need to think about sending young players to Australia or England instead of pushing them to play the lucrative IPL. If they still want to cash in the IPL money, let them play the first leg of IPL in Australia, and a second leg in India. After all, the TV rights are what matters more for BCCI.

Anchor:

Dhoni’s captaincy?

Dada:

Dhoni should continue as ODI captain. He is a terrific one day player himself and he wins games for you. As a test captain, I don’t see Dhoni fitting to be a test captain because he is not a good enough test player, and after losing eight test matches in a row overseas there must be some change .

It is time to go for different teams for different formats. For there is too many formats, too much matches and he is the captain of too many teams and it is showing in his performance

My Opinion:

Apart from Kohli, no batsman has been as consistent as Dhoni in the one day team. He surely deserves the place, as a player, keeper, and as the captain.

But what about test matches? Most of his better test innings’ has come in relatively easier circumstances where the top order has piled on big runs that allowed him to play his natural game. Dhoni would be the first one to agree that he has not got the technique to survive a hostile spell on a bouncy pitch. But why is he still playing in the test team?

His primary job is Captaining, keeping and then batting. When the specialist batsman had a such horrendous time , his poor show with the bat goes under the mat. For me, Dhoni would still play in the test as the best wicket keeper available.

If results were what made Dhoni the captain he was, the recent results should also make Dhoni, the test captain he is. He has not shown anything in the last few months to retain him as the test captain. But who else is there?

Anchor:

Is it a divided team? The Sehwag camp and Dhoni camp. On retirement of Senior members?

Dada:

I don’t agree that it is divided team. You normally hear such stories when the team is losing. Basic problem has been ability not cohesiveness. It is absolutely apparent that the team is not good enough to win overseas at the current moment. You’ve got players who are past their best. They still may be very good, but they are not as good as they were.

I don’t want to see the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, or Laxman going down on a low. I felt Dravid should have thought about his test career after England. He would not have player another 10-15 test matches, but people would have remembered him for those three centuries. These guys should remember that whenever I go I should go at high.

My Opinion:

Nothing better can be said about retirement.

“Absolutely apparent”, strong words from dada. And any keen follower would note that he is not far away from truth. India did not showcase any ability in the recent test matches. They were blown out in single sessions, and has never been able to capitalize on good sessions. Any team consisting of different personalities is bound to have issues, but how well they keep it within dressing room is what matters. I would squarely blame it on Duncan Fletcher’s inability to control the entire situation. Why is he never in the picture? I wonder if he is still the coach or is someone else running the show.

What we want is another Gary Kirsten !