What’s up with Captain Cool? Two defeats on the trot, leading to a series loss, against a team whom India couldn't even imagine losing to even a year ago. And, in the course of all this, an ugly, unsportsmanlike act on the playing field.
It was uncharacteristic of MS Dhoni. Bang in the middle of the heat of India’s ultimately unsuccessful chase of 307 in the first one day international against Bangladesh last week, Dhoni set off down the pitch, anticipating a quick single. What happened next depends on which version you’d like to believe.
The Bangladesh version says that Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh’s current pace sensation, unknowingly got in Dhoni’s way and Dhoni deliberately shoved him out of his path, elbowing him crudely. The Indian version points out that Rahman had got into Rohit Sharma’s much earlier when he was batting, and that he knew Dhoni was running down the pitch and deliberately positioned himself in the batsman's path.
What is known is that after the collision, Rahman lay sprawled on the ground and had to go off. Dhoni was fined 75% of his match fee for breaching the International Cricket Council Code of Conduct, while Rahman was fined 50%. The incident has added to the charged atmosphere surrounding the series: Bangladesh, still incensed with their belief that India’s win in the World Cup quarter-final was due to umpiring favours, have raged against what they consider Dhoni’s “unsportsmanlike” behaviour, despite the bowler himself admitting that he should have gone out of the way.
India, unsurprisingly, haven’t reacted very favourably to these developments. It emerged that had Rahman also not been fined, the Indian team would have lodged an appeal with the ICC. In a Press Conference on June 19, Suresh Raina came down quite heavily on the Bangladeshi pacer, noting that, “he [Rahman] has to learn to stay away from the pitch when the batsmen are running. If he doesn’t change this habit, it will be very difficult for him.”
Recent blots in an otherwise impeccable record
Interestingly, this is the second time recently that Dhoni has come out the wrong way of an ICC hearing.
In July 2014, when India and England were playing a Test at Trent Bridge, there was an ugly spat between Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson which supposedly involved Anderson pushing Jadeja. Dhoni (and, by extension, the Board of Control for Cricket in India) was adamant that Anderson had gone too far and pursued a long-drawn case, only for the final verdict to adjudge both Anderson and Jadeja not guilty.
Dhoni also faced disciplinary action in the just-concluded Indian Premier League for his comments after a Chennai Super Kings match that a particular decision had been "horrible".
This sudden spat of disciplinary issues is remarkably strange for a man who has rarely faced such issues before. Unlike his predecessor Sourav Ganguly, who always had run-ins with match officials during his time as captain and never seemed far away from a caution or two, Dhoni has been the perfect gentleman during his tenure as captain. Other than some fines for slow over-rates, he has never faced disciplinary action before, whether as captain or batsman.
Has Captain Cool finally been lost his calmness?
Could one explanation be that India’s patchy form in the last few years has finally rattled the coolest man in world cricket? Unlikely. As a captain, Dhoni has often adopted a Zen-like public persona, even going to the extent of declaring multiple times that “process is more important than result”. Whether the outcome was a win or a loss, Dhoni’s emotions have always been the same throughout the eight-and-odd years during which he has shepherded Indian cricket. It is difficult to believe that now, at this late stage of his career, he has been shaken to such an extent.
Nor has his individual batting form dipped. Of course, when India win, Dhoni’s form is spectacular: he averages 72 with three centuries and has often remained not out, staying till the end to finish it off. But even in instances when the team loses, Dhoni’s record is decent: an average of close to 40, three centuries, and a highest score of 139.
Perhaps the simplest explanation is that, there really is nothing wrong with him. The Mustafizur Rahman incident was one of those freak one-offs, something which shouldn’t have happened on a cricket field but did. Going by the fact that Dhoni has an almost spotless record, it’s probably safe to assume that there was no malice in his actions - he did the first thing that came into his head when young Rahman blocked his way.
Maybe it’s time we stopped trying to find heroes and villains in the incident, accept it as a one-off, and move on to some more pertinent issues. For starters, how in the world did India, ranked second in the world, lose the series to seventh ranked Bangladesh?
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It was uncharacteristic of MS Dhoni. Bang in the middle of the heat of India’s ultimately unsuccessful chase of 307 in the first one day international against Bangladesh last week, Dhoni set off down the pitch, anticipating a quick single. What happened next depends on which version you’d like to believe.
The Bangladesh version says that Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh’s current pace sensation, unknowingly got in Dhoni’s way and Dhoni deliberately shoved him out of his path, elbowing him crudely. The Indian version points out that Rahman had got into Rohit Sharma’s much earlier when he was batting, and that he knew Dhoni was running down the pitch and deliberately positioned himself in the batsman's path.
What is known is that after the collision, Rahman lay sprawled on the ground and had to go off. Dhoni was fined 75% of his match fee for breaching the International Cricket Council Code of Conduct, while Rahman was fined 50%. The incident has added to the charged atmosphere surrounding the series: Bangladesh, still incensed with their belief that India’s win in the World Cup quarter-final was due to umpiring favours, have raged against what they consider Dhoni’s “unsportsmanlike” behaviour, despite the bowler himself admitting that he should have gone out of the way.
India, unsurprisingly, haven’t reacted very favourably to these developments. It emerged that had Rahman also not been fined, the Indian team would have lodged an appeal with the ICC. In a Press Conference on June 19, Suresh Raina came down quite heavily on the Bangladeshi pacer, noting that, “he [Rahman] has to learn to stay away from the pitch when the batsmen are running. If he doesn’t change this habit, it will be very difficult for him.”
Recent blots in an otherwise impeccable record
Interestingly, this is the second time recently that Dhoni has come out the wrong way of an ICC hearing.
In July 2014, when India and England were playing a Test at Trent Bridge, there was an ugly spat between Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson which supposedly involved Anderson pushing Jadeja. Dhoni (and, by extension, the Board of Control for Cricket in India) was adamant that Anderson had gone too far and pursued a long-drawn case, only for the final verdict to adjudge both Anderson and Jadeja not guilty.
Dhoni also faced disciplinary action in the just-concluded Indian Premier League for his comments after a Chennai Super Kings match that a particular decision had been "horrible".
This sudden spat of disciplinary issues is remarkably strange for a man who has rarely faced such issues before. Unlike his predecessor Sourav Ganguly, who always had run-ins with match officials during his time as captain and never seemed far away from a caution or two, Dhoni has been the perfect gentleman during his tenure as captain. Other than some fines for slow over-rates, he has never faced disciplinary action before, whether as captain or batsman.
Has Captain Cool finally been lost his calmness?
Could one explanation be that India’s patchy form in the last few years has finally rattled the coolest man in world cricket? Unlikely. As a captain, Dhoni has often adopted a Zen-like public persona, even going to the extent of declaring multiple times that “process is more important than result”. Whether the outcome was a win or a loss, Dhoni’s emotions have always been the same throughout the eight-and-odd years during which he has shepherded Indian cricket. It is difficult to believe that now, at this late stage of his career, he has been shaken to such an extent.
Nor has his individual batting form dipped. Of course, when India win, Dhoni’s form is spectacular: he averages 72 with three centuries and has often remained not out, staying till the end to finish it off. But even in instances when the team loses, Dhoni’s record is decent: an average of close to 40, three centuries, and a highest score of 139.
Perhaps the simplest explanation is that, there really is nothing wrong with him. The Mustafizur Rahman incident was one of those freak one-offs, something which shouldn’t have happened on a cricket field but did. Going by the fact that Dhoni has an almost spotless record, it’s probably safe to assume that there was no malice in his actions - he did the first thing that came into his head when young Rahman blocked his way.
Maybe it’s time we stopped trying to find heroes and villains in the incident, accept it as a one-off, and move on to some more pertinent issues. For starters, how in the world did India, ranked second in the world, lose the series to seventh ranked Bangladesh?