The Dhoni Dilemma

The season of 2011-12 has probably been the toughest in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s career till date. Coming as they did after the high of the World Cup victory early in 2011, the tours to England and Australia marked an ebb in India’s performance in Test cricket and in Dhoni’s ability to rein in the fortunes of the team when travelling abroad. India had a blank to show in their report card, as they were humiliated with a 0-8 score in any many test matches played in the two countries. 

The pressure of International cricket, Test cricket in specific and the toughest of them all, playing outside the subcontinent started to crack one of the toughest nuts that Indian cricket has produced. Dhoni, in an interaction with the media during the series Down Under, announced that he might have to quit one form of the cricket if he had to continue playing till the World Cup in 2015. There was ample buzz generated in the media and cricketing circles that Dhoni would soon quit Test cricket and if not soon, it would be the first format to be left out of his plans. It was obvious that this was the format of cricket, he enjoyed the least.

Dhoni performs a triple role in matches, that of a captain, a wicketkeeper and a batsman - physically arduous and mentally exhausting at the best of times. Performing this over a period of four to five days in Test matches can drain the fittest of sportsmen and the most astute of brains. But this also throws up the all-important question - is Dhoni able to do justice to the three jobs or are there areas where the performances are less than optimal?

While he is one of the best finishers of the game in world cricket in the shorter format at the moment, a look at his Test batting numbers and manner of dismissals in the last few years do not offer anything comforting to the Indian supporters. He averages an abysmal 17.05 in 13 test matches played outside the subcontinent in the last 3 years. His flashy and sometimes walking cover drives have become something to dread, the keeper and the catching positions behind the wicket getting on their toes, waiting for one that would soon come their way. It is difficult to understand why the man who musters up patience at will to settle down gradually in every innings in limited overs cricket does not derive the same support from his temperament in the five day format.

Ask Dilip Vengsarkar, a former top order batsman for India and former Chairman of selectors about this and he dismisses it outright, “He has looked good, whatever I’ve seen of him in New Zealand. I hope he gets runs. With time, he’ll do well in the series.” And he has this to offer in support of his argument, “(The) thing is, you have to see how he plays the game. It’s not merely statistics. If we go merely by statistics, the guy who writes statistics can become a selector”.

His former India mate, wicket-keeper and predecessor in the Selection Committee, Kiran More echoes with his own assertion, “For me, he’s a match-winner, I still have a lot of time for him. There is a lot of pressure that he takes on himself, especially in situations that he bats at No. 6 or No. 7 in all forms of cricket. We have a long tail and he has to bat with the tail. He’s carrying the pressure all the time (as a batsman)”.

If numbers are what let Dhoni down on batting, viewers might be convinced that the technical aspect tends to be the Achilles heel in his keeping. With his lightning-speed stumping dismissals and flexibility, he has proved to be an extremely good keeper to spinners and is second to none in that area. The problems arise with his positioning to fast bowlers. We have heard experts mention about Dhoni’s tendency to stand too far behind to pace bowlers that there have been many occasions when catches have gone begging, falling short of himself as the keeper or of the slip cordon which takes its position based on the keeper’s position. As I am posting this, there are 2 that went down this way in the first two overs of the first test in New Zealand. 

Kiran More again begs to differ, “I don’t think there is any flaw in his wicket-keeping. He’s not a stylish wicket-keeper but he has got a different knack of catching the ball”. He adds on, “To me, he’s got the best temperament when it comes to tight situations for Test cricket or ODI or T20.  Under situations of pressure where we need wickets, he’s the best wicket-keeper. He doesn’t miss much – stumping, catches or run-outs”.

       

On captaincy, there is a view that Dhoni has managed as a successful captain in Tests purely by the number of matches played in the subcontinent in the last few years. Take the case of the last 10 matches played outside the subcontinent, India have lost in 9 of them and in a rare opportunity of winning a match in Wanderers last month, Dhoni’s persistence with Zaheer Khan in the second session and failure to bring in Mohd. Shami in time, the best Indian bowler of the match by far, failed to impress many. Back in Dec-Jan 2012, Dhoni’s inertia in not altering anything in the batting composition or the order despite the batting failures in almost 15 out of 16 innings through England and Australia had a profound impact on the team’s performances. There seemed an inability or an unwillingness to bring in change even when both the series scorecard and pride were at stake.

Here again, Dhoni finds his backing. Vengsarkar thinks the problem with the team’s performance overseas is with the absence of tour matches played before the main series starts, “Practice matches before ODI series and Test series are important, to get acclimatised to the conditions and the wickets. If you see today, that has not happened - in South Africa or New Zealand”. He defends the performances with, “It takes time to adjust to the pace, bounce and movement of the wicket for batsmen and bowlers”.

More blames it more on the bowling department, “For me, the team’s performance in South Africa was outstanding except for two sessions (in batting). We have a big issue in the bowling department, when the team gives them 450 runs to defend and in that kind of a pitch (Wanderers), the bowlers cannot do anything on the wicket. At home we are able to do it, but not Internationally. When we travel, we need bowlers who can take 10, 7 or 5 wickets in a match to win a test match for you. (On the) Last day, when the ball turns, keeps low, there’s differing (varying) bounce, we’re not capitalising on that”.

While Dhoni does seem to have the endorsement of former players and administrators, the performances just do not seem to add up. Even if we choose to ignore Dhoni's shortcomings, it might not be imprudent to look beyond him for Test matches, reduce the heavy workload and the toll that it takes on him in the process. We might just be better-served with a longer tenure in two formats of the game which he excels in.