Unable to rally his team, beaten Dhoni's time as Test captain is over

By Chetan Narula from The Oval Whenever MS Dhoni holds a press conference, it is usually an entertaining experience. He makes self-conflicting statements. There is a dull monotony of his voice rambling-on as your mind drifts to other things. Then suddenly he will throw in a wise-crack, often a pearl of comic wisdom, to crack you up. On Sunday, after India surrendered the fifth Test at the Oval by an embarrassing innings and 244 runs inside three days, Dhoni’s post-match press-conference was a dull affair. The usual zing was missing from the Indian captain. The energy levels were low after losing yet another overseas Test series. [caption id=“attachment_1670381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of MS Dhoni. AP[/caption] He tried one joke, when an English scribe asked whether Indian players should leave the IPL and try making time for county cricket, and he said with his enigmatic grin, “You have to ask BCCI about that. Don’t be so jealous of IPL.” The funny element was lost on everyone. The timing was bad too. And Dhoni should have stopped at the first sentence but he didn’t. This is because he is too much of a maverick to do so. Even in devastation of three consecutive humiliating defeats, he couldn’t help it. The solemn mood of the gathering was not ready to accept any comedy though. You almost want to feel sorry for him. You wonder what he might have said to his team at The Oval. You wonder what he might have said to his team at Manchester. Then you remember that he let his bat do the talking and made a point. The manner in which Dhoni-the-batsman played in these last two Tests was most unnatural. In conditions where top-order batsmen with comparatively better techniques than him failed, he scored two defiant half-centuries. His team couldn’t respond to his brave batting display in these last two Tests. It was a pity since you don’t really associate such knocks with Dhoni in overseas Test cricket. Perhaps his knock of 76* at Lord’s on the 2007 tour comes to mind where he saved India the match. Or that 148-run knock against Pakistan in 2006 at Faisalabad, albeit in sub-continental conditions. This limitation as a Test batsman in such swinging/seaming conditions is where his limitations as a Test captain were born. Dhoni’s mind is filled with permutations and combinations that are suited best to the limited-overs arena where he battles his way out either with the bat or some crazy bowling or fielding changes. The infinite probabilities of Test cricket escape him though and this format is not governed by his adventurous theories. You saw his shoulders droop when Joe Root smacked 98 runs in 11 overs on day three at The Oval. You saw him let the game drift while waiting for the second new ball at Manchester, putting on Ravindra Jadeja as the first bowler on day three. At Southampton too Dhoni waited, while England scored freely in the second innings, for the declaration to come. At Nottingham, it was the same when Root and James Anderson put on that world-record stand. At Lord’s he nearly repeated it when Liam Plunkett scored his maiden Test fifty in the first innings. When asked if this Indian team can make things happen and win overseas, Dhoni said, “Yes.” But, whether home or away, in numerous Tests, this team has let the game just slide away waiting for things to happen. Dhoni expects the bowlers to sort out themselves, fielders to back them up and for the team as a unit to rise to the occasion. This is a man who grabs a game of cricket – in limited-over formats – by the scruff of its neck. This auto-pilot mode is unnatural to him yet it occurs so very often. If the last four seasons of Indian cricket are replayed, these instances will be stretched out to every possible Test series since the 2011 World Cup. In that period, India have lost 8-0 in England and Australia because the old guard was heading towards a golden sunset. Under the garb of transition and developing a young team, India lost in South Africa, New Zealand and have now in England again. At all times, these losses have heard mention of the word ‘process’ a million times in Dhoni’s press-conferences. Therein it evolves into ‘process without result being important’. A reason given is that thinking too much about getting results puts pressure on the team. It is a good approach to go-with-the-flow when you have to play an ordinary game of cricket. It isn’t so when you are contesting a must-win Test match. And, since when hasn’t there been pressure associated with Indian cricket? Or with cricket (or any sport) at the highest international level? If results don’t matter in sport – or any other aspect of life – that is not off-setting or releasing undue pressure, it is a loss of accountability. No captain in Indian cricket history could have survived that 8-0 disaster. Dhoni did somehow. But rot sets in when there are none to question the direction in which a captain is steering his ship. The lack of an obvious replacement was the rationale for retaining Dhoni back then. It becomes stronger now especially since Virat Kohli is suddenly struggling to put bat to ball. Indian selectors could have been brave in 2012-13 and handed Kohli captaincy for 12 successive Tests at home. What’s the worst that could have happened? After playing for so long at home, India would have lost in South Africa, New Zealand and England under Kohli. It has been no different under Dhoni. Asked if he had taken Indian Test cricket as far as he possibly could after the series, Dhoni replied, “Maybe yes.” For the first time in years, he looked beaten. If that is not an admission by the man himself, then what is? If that is not a nudge to the selectors, then what is? If Kohli is not the current hot choice as a potential successor for Dhoni, it doesn’t mean there isn’t another choice. R Ashwin is a thinking, intelligent cricketer. He is also India’s leading spinner currently and probably their leading all-rounder as well. He should have played all five Tests here in England but was harshly judged on four overseas Tests prior to this tour and played only two more matches here. Whether Dhoni stays or goes will ultimately come down to whether or not the BCCI wants to keep him. Dhoni has the backing of N Srinivasan, the suspended board-president and the ICC chairman. If Srinivasan opposes change, as he has done in the past, Dhoni will stay. However, if Dhoni is still captain when the first Test versus the Windies gets underway on October 30 at Hyderabad, Indian cricket will enter into existential crisis.