Blaming Dhoni pointless, it's Duncan Fletcher who has to go

MS Dhoni sees plenty of improvement. Thanks MS. We appreciate that. Improvement is something that the No 2 Test team in the world looks for when they travel abroad. How about winning a match? Just one. Lets get something straight. The No 2 ranking is a joke. I don’t know the magic math that the ICC uses to calculate its rankings but it must be an interesting formula that allows a team that has not won a test match abroad since 2011 to be No 2 in the world. But fear not, India is improving. The recent losses against South Africa and New Zealand are just a small reminder that when Indian players need to carry their passports to reach a stadium they leave behind their talent, mental strength and ability to win matches. Occasional sparks of skill do show up but those are brief mirages in a dessert filled with losses. [caption id=“attachment_1400295” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India’s woes abroad have coincided with Fletcher’s tenure as coach. Reuters[/caption] You can blame the captaincy, the players, the attitude or whatever you want. But the reality is that no one has been able to dissect and figure out what the problem is. Calling for Dhoni’s head really doesn’t mean much if the batsmen are inconsistent, the bowlers continue to bowl the wrong length and the fielders are asleep. The one name that has not been brought up in this debacle is Duncan Fletcher. India’s woes abroad have coincided with his tenure as coach. It is great that India wins at home but Fletcher and his staff have done nothing to prepare the players to play abroad. There is a debate on the impact of coaches in cricket. Some say that the coach is irrelevant and can’t really do much. If that is the case then why have one? A coach in any sport is critical to the success of the team. Joe Dawes has been India’s bowling coach since February 2012 and has not been able to achieve much abroad with a reasonable amount of talent to work with. Most of the Indian batsmen have been terrible overseas and what has Fletcher done to curb this terrible form? The team does not have a mental conditioning coach, something that is critical when you are facing mental blocks when playing in different conditions. The overall set up is not conducive to creating a winning environment. As a fan one also gets the sense that the BCCI is okay with these losses. After the 0-8 losses against England and Australia the two series abroad have been of just two test matches each. It seems that the attitude is, lets lose quickly abroad, then come back home, win big and all will be forgotten. India now play the Asia Cup and the World T20 (both in sub-continent conditions) followed by the IPL. If India does well in the two tournaments preceding the IPL all will be forgotten till they go back to England this summer for another bamboozling. Deep thought and analysis are required to figure out a solution to this problem. A starting point would be to show Duncan Fletcher and team the door. However, odds are that a study into the problem is not going to happen. The Asia Cup kicks off on 25 February and so in a day or two the tours of South Africa and New Zealand will be a distant memory. Hope the ICC at least changes its rankings to - India No 2 Test team in the world (but only at home).