Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a firm believer in “process”. He likes to do things in a certain manner, or at least what he thinks is the right manner. It was his prerogative as the Indian skipper, of course. It was a thought-process that didn’t take into account results, for according to him, an outcome isn’t always in control.
This philosophy was the central theme of every run-chase that Dhoni has ever manoeuvred for Indian cricket. We remember most of them because they ended in success. “It is my preference to take the game to the last over. It is an equal position between batsman and bowler, and then anything can happen under pressure,” he had explained once.
Of late, though, we remembered a few instances because the success ratio was starting to falter. In a way, it is a commentary on the rich legacy that Dhoni has written for himself – the greatest finisher limited-overs cricket has ever seen. But it was starting to impinge on his captaincy record, as his batting prowess started to wane.
Losing the fifth gear
Dhoni is no longer the power-hitter he once was. Sure, he will never be classified under batsmen who came to the crease and started walloping the ball from the word go. And yet, he had that fifth gear available to him whenever he felt like it, or when the situation demanded.
Nowadays, Dhoni needs to go through the lower gears first – going from first to second to third, and then to fourth. The fifth has all but disappeared, making a rare appearance at odd moments, like in Mohali against New Zealand in October, 2016.
Himself an auto freak, Dhoni understands that this uneasy shifting of gears is the first indication that the engine is about to seize. “I can no longer hit the ball from the off. I need to play a few deliveries to get going, to start rotating strike, and only then the big shots can come,” he had said in Australia last January when India lost the ODI series 4-1. In the World T20, and against New Zealand, he tried to compensate this with improved fitness and greater running between the wickets.
Even so, in one calendar season, the loss Down Under was third successively after the ones against Bangladesh (away) and South Africa (home). This amalgamation of poor results with his oft-appearing batting frailties was starting to shape a different narrative – one where judiciously deciding batting slots was the need of the hour. Dhoni needs to bat at number four, anchor India’s middle-order and guide the future finishers – there can be no argument about this.
As an experienced member of the team alone, Dhoni’s selfless streak stopped him from pulling at that thread. But in his heart, having led for so long, he knew that batting elsewhere would only hurt the team’s cause too. How do you pull yourself in two different directions at the same time, and not tear up your very existence, momentary as it may be?
Obviously, then, Dhoni decided to see if someone else would optimally pick a batting slot for him, as he just couldn’t, not anymore.
“For the past week, I was sensing something different about him,” said Arun Pandey, his manager and close confidant. “We talk a lot about cricket and of late he just wouldn’t talk about it. I figured there was something weighing him down and asked him about it. He told me his cricket is not my business.
“He did tell me once he made up his mind and conveyed his decision to the BCCI. He was waiting for the selection meeting to convene for the England series. It is a good decision from him, I think. It will allow him to concentrate on the game and he can play longer,” he added.
A new ‘process’
“Good” is a mild way of putting it. No, it is a perfectly timed decision that onsets a new “process” in Indian cricket. Just like back in 2014-’15, when there was no doubt about who would succeed him in Tests, once again there is no uncertainty about succession in the limited-overs’ arena either. Virat Kohli is the man, but everyone already knows that.
Looking back at how 2016 shaped up then, if ever there was a case of a bunch of players moving on from one leader to another, team India is the optimal example. It isn’t in the negative sense, though.
For everyone in this team of the future – from experienced hands like Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin to the newcomers like KL Rahul and Jayant Yadav – all of them have grown under one umbrella. Even Kohli started off, and has become the exemplary cricketer he is today, under Dhoni’s leadership.
It puts Dhoni in a revered – and safe – zone in this dressing room, akin to what Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan enjoyed in their latter years. Unlike the duo though, Dhoni is fighting fit at age 35 – fitter perhaps than he was 10 years ago when the demands of leading India in all three formats were placed on his shoulders.
At present then, there is no reason to worry about his place in the ODI (and T20I) set up. Not until the new captain has had a think-over and sorted out the messy batting order. Not until Dhoni has gone to England and played the Champions Trophy. Not until Kohli has had an iota of time to consider what his ODI side might look like in a couple years’ time.
And this is the underlying point. Dhoni’s decision, rather the timing of his decision, has gifted Kohli ample time to figure out his plans for the next two years or so. At the core of this career-defining choice, Dhoni ought to have wondered out aloud about how long he wants to play. It is no secret that he wants to be a part of one more World Cup squad.
It is amply clear now that he didn’t see himself leading that team. And if it wasn’t going to be him, then in the betterment of the team’s prospects in England, it was an obvious call to let his successor know the enormity of the job ahead by gauging the conditions in the 2017 Champions Trophy, a dress rehearsal for the big event in 2019.
Yes, his retirement has triggered preparations for the next ODI World Cup, with just about 30 months to count down. Kohli loves a challenge, doesn’t he? Dhoni has left one, tailor-made, for the new ODI skipper.
