Relief rather than joy was the defining emotion as India finally managed to salvage some pride against Bangladesh in the third One Day International. Finally the template worked for them – Mahendra Singh Dhoni played free-flowing cricket and Suresh Raina added the burst in the late overs after a Shikhar Dhawan half-century. A chase of 318 was always a steep ask for Bangladesh and they lost too many wickets in the process, finally losing by 77 runs.
However, it was interesting to hear Dhoni’s comments at the presentation ceremony. Here’s a brief excerpt of what he said:
Approach to pace
It might look a little convoluted, but that’s the way Dhoni has been talking for years now. And the message from him seems quite clear: India’s quick bowlers just aren’t good enough. This, despite Umesh Yadav topping the wicket charts for India at the 2015 World Cup.
Why is that interesting? Because going by Virat Kohli’s selection tactics for the Test at Fatullah, the Indian Test captain obviously thinks very differently. On a typical subcontinental pitch, Kohli surprised many by going in with a team packed with five bowlers. And Kohli didn’t hold back on the pace quotient either – that bowling attack comprised Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, arguably the fastest Indian bowlers in the circuit right now.
The inference seems to be clear – Dhoni and Kohli are definitely not on the same page, at least in terms of how they rate their pace attack. And if the reports from home are true, it seems there’s some serious discord between the two current international captains of the Indian cricket team.
Trouble in paradise?
It all started after the shock defeat to Bangladesh in the second ODI. Chanchal Bhattacharya, Dhoni’s coach, alleged in an interview that Dhoni was not able to perform properly due to the “dressing room atmosphere”. He further went on to add, “"He [Dhoni] is unable to deliver his best because of mental pressure and because of the dressing room's environment as well as the media. I haven't spoken to him but I feel the environment of the dressing room is bad."
Around the same time, Raj Kumar Sharma, the coach for Virat Kohli, came down heavily on the Indian teams’ performance, calling the defeat “the Black Sunday of Indian cricket”. Though he did not blame Dhoni directly, Sharma blamed other aspects of the performance, including the selection and team strategies.
Matters were also not helped when Dhoni gave a sarcastic rejoinder to questions about his captaincy saying he was willing to step down, if it would solve all the problems ailing Indian cricket. The victory in the third ODI notwithstanding, all of it points to some serious issues within the team.
Indian cricket has never been a stranger to clashes within the dressing room. From Sunil Gavaskar’s issues with Kapil Dev to Sourav Ganguly’s reign, there have always been reports of spats and disagreements. Things came to a head during Chappell’s regime as coach with frequent reports that the team had been divided into cliques.
However once the Chappell regime ended and the Dhoni era started, there was a perceptible change. In the eight odd years that Dhoni has captained India, there have been virtually no reports of any kind of rebellion within the team ranks. There has been the occasional rumour but it’s always been swiftly nipped in the bud and the Indian players have largely gelled well as a team, which has been a factor behind some of their greatest successes.
But if the reports of Dhoni and Kohli not being on the same page are true, it seems that the old problem of dressing room disunity has reared its ugly head again. It’s quite clear that Kohli’s style of captaincy is intrinsically very different from Dhoni – he’s far more instinctive and aggressive. In a far cry from Dhoni’s favourite “process over results” method, Kohli openly called on his team to “start winning abroad, instead of playing with the mindset of learning all the time”, before the first Test at Fatullah.
This is not an ideal situation for Indian cricket to be in. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are both fine cricketers but it’s obvious that they have very different ideas about the captaincy process, which is liable to confuse the team. This is where Ravi Shastri must step in – he has to talk to both the skippers and sort this out fast. Because if this issue isn’t resolved soon, Indian cricket could witness another calamity like the 2007 World Cup.
Third ODI: India (317 for 6 in 50 overs) beat Bangladesh (240 in 47 overs) by 77 runs.
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However, it was interesting to hear Dhoni’s comments at the presentation ceremony. Here’s a brief excerpt of what he said:
“This win is good, but we need to make a decision if we want quick bowlers or if we want good bowlers even if they are not quick. We have been backing too many quick bowlers who haven't been bowling well.
Approach to pace
It might look a little convoluted, but that’s the way Dhoni has been talking for years now. And the message from him seems quite clear: India’s quick bowlers just aren’t good enough. This, despite Umesh Yadav topping the wicket charts for India at the 2015 World Cup.
Why is that interesting? Because going by Virat Kohli’s selection tactics for the Test at Fatullah, the Indian Test captain obviously thinks very differently. On a typical subcontinental pitch, Kohli surprised many by going in with a team packed with five bowlers. And Kohli didn’t hold back on the pace quotient either – that bowling attack comprised Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, arguably the fastest Indian bowlers in the circuit right now.
The inference seems to be clear – Dhoni and Kohli are definitely not on the same page, at least in terms of how they rate their pace attack. And if the reports from home are true, it seems there’s some serious discord between the two current international captains of the Indian cricket team.
Trouble in paradise?
It all started after the shock defeat to Bangladesh in the second ODI. Chanchal Bhattacharya, Dhoni’s coach, alleged in an interview that Dhoni was not able to perform properly due to the “dressing room atmosphere”. He further went on to add, “"He [Dhoni] is unable to deliver his best because of mental pressure and because of the dressing room's environment as well as the media. I haven't spoken to him but I feel the environment of the dressing room is bad."
Around the same time, Raj Kumar Sharma, the coach for Virat Kohli, came down heavily on the Indian teams’ performance, calling the defeat “the Black Sunday of Indian cricket”. Though he did not blame Dhoni directly, Sharma blamed other aspects of the performance, including the selection and team strategies.
Matters were also not helped when Dhoni gave a sarcastic rejoinder to questions about his captaincy saying he was willing to step down, if it would solve all the problems ailing Indian cricket. The victory in the third ODI notwithstanding, all of it points to some serious issues within the team.
Indian cricket has never been a stranger to clashes within the dressing room. From Sunil Gavaskar’s issues with Kapil Dev to Sourav Ganguly’s reign, there have always been reports of spats and disagreements. Things came to a head during Chappell’s regime as coach with frequent reports that the team had been divided into cliques.
However once the Chappell regime ended and the Dhoni era started, there was a perceptible change. In the eight odd years that Dhoni has captained India, there have been virtually no reports of any kind of rebellion within the team ranks. There has been the occasional rumour but it’s always been swiftly nipped in the bud and the Indian players have largely gelled well as a team, which has been a factor behind some of their greatest successes.
But if the reports of Dhoni and Kohli not being on the same page are true, it seems that the old problem of dressing room disunity has reared its ugly head again. It’s quite clear that Kohli’s style of captaincy is intrinsically very different from Dhoni – he’s far more instinctive and aggressive. In a far cry from Dhoni’s favourite “process over results” method, Kohli openly called on his team to “start winning abroad, instead of playing with the mindset of learning all the time”, before the first Test at Fatullah.
This is not an ideal situation for Indian cricket to be in. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are both fine cricketers but it’s obvious that they have very different ideas about the captaincy process, which is liable to confuse the team. This is where Ravi Shastri must step in – he has to talk to both the skippers and sort this out fast. Because if this issue isn’t resolved soon, Indian cricket could witness another calamity like the 2007 World Cup.
Third ODI: India (317 for 6 in 50 overs) beat Bangladesh (240 in 47 overs) by 77 runs.