Is India lost under Mahendra Singh Dhoni?

Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India would not have experienced Kolkata 2001. We would not have seen VVS Laxman’s 281 or Rahul Dravid’s 180 or Harbhajan Singh’s 6-73 in the fourth innings. We would not have seen an against-the-odds victory. Under him, we would have seen a dull drab draw if we were lucky or deeply humiliating defeat if we were not, because with Dhoni it’s always safety first; it’s always a ‘let’s not lose the Test and then think of victory’ approach. Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes in ‘his’ cause. And his cause dictates that India should not lose a Test. He believes that he has earned the right to call the shots; he believes he is a good enough judge of the position of the game or the calibre of his players; he believes he knows his limits; he believes the Test is dead and he doesn’t believe in miracles. But one can’t help but believe that he’s got his approach all wrong. It is a defensive approach and it is not an approach that a young team needs. The Indian team needs a leader like Tiger Pataudi, it needs a leader like Sourav Ganguly – it needs leaders who don’t mind losing in their quest for victory. [caption id=“attachment_559979” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Is Dhoni thinking of victory at all? PTI[/caption] Dhoni, however, has shown time and again that he isn’t that man. He isn’t willing to risk defeat while chasing victory. Check out what happened in the morning session on day 5: India has a Test to win – the series is on the line; careers are on the line; reputations are on the line and what does Dhoni do? He puts in one slip. One slip – Virender Sehwag. Just one slip. No silly point. No short-leg. No leg-slip. No silly mid-on. No silly mid-off. No gully. No fielders close enough to put any pressure on the batsmen. Just one fielder in a catching position. Then he gets Ashwin to, once again, bowl from around the wicket. Why? Someone suggested that maybe Dhoni was trying to safeguard India against a late collapse but really he should have known better. Now, this Indian team isn’t filled with saints – put them up close and get them to start chattering. Sometimes, when the pitch isn’t doing anything – it’s worth a go… anything to distract the batsmen. But no, Dhoni didn’t even think of that. In fact, we have no idea what he was thinking of. Maybe he had just switched off and with him, the team followed him into the darkness as well. But the dark days just seem to be beginning. Yesterday was bad enough. With the match and series on the line – England had a lead of 33 runs at the start of play on Day 4. India’s response was to score 29 wickets in 62 minutes. R Ashwin was trying to farm the strike. But what was the Indian team management doing? Sometimes, it’s about giving it your best shot without expecting anything in return. Dhoni and India simply don’t do that. If this was the IPL, would Dhoni have done the same thing? N Srinivasan is the Board president and he is at the ground – shouldn’t he send someone down to the dressing room and ask Dhoni: What the hell is happening? Dhoni isn’t responsible for the decline… with the big players gone, it was destined (Dhoni might have decided on that anyway, so there is no convincing him) to happen. But he isn’t responsible for the manner in which this team is faltering and he is doing nothing to stop the slide. There was a time in the 60s when India were a team that were lost in translation – you had the different camps and India simply didn’t play like a team. But now, they are a team lost in transition – the big players are gone and the ones in the team simply don’t want to take any responsibility. Hats off to the crowd at Nagpur that have turned up to watch their team – hands on hips, shoulders drooping and a captain who wants a draw. Hats off to them because they deserve better… indeed, India deserves better.