Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for his unorthodox approach towards the game of cricket. He’s never afraid of trying new things and his tactical moves are very difficult to decode, most of time. And this is why Sourav Ganguly calls him a ‘gambler.’
In limited overs cricket, Dhoni is very proactive and known for his out of the box thinking. But, in Test cricket, Dhoni is the most defensive, unresponsive and clueless captain you would ever see. The word “positive” has never been associated with Dhoni’s captaincy in the longer format. In the home conditions, his negative captaincy gets overlooked because India are historically dominant at home, but his abysmal away record has let the team down.
In the ongoing Test series against England, Dhoni’s captaincy has been criticised by many cricket pundits and former players. When Nasser Hussain asked Sourav Ganguly about Dhoni’s captaincy in the series , Ganguly said “Poor. He goes through these patches, especially overseas.”
From changing the winning combination after the first Test, to starting with Ravindra Jadeja on the all important day 3 of the Test match, when the pitch had a lot in it for the fast bowlers; some of his decisions have been very farcical.
Dhoni has always been under scrutiny for negative filed settings. But, off late, he has also developed a habit of asking his bowlers to bowl a negative line. Dhoni’s negative approach and stubborn mindset has been one of the biggest reasons behind India’s horrible record outside the sub-content, in the last 4 years or so.
From what we have seen over the years, Dhoni is not someone who can change. But, if India want to well abroad, they must start looking beyond Dhoni. Although, there’s no clear captain-in-waiting, but they will have to find one for Test cricket.
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By The Cricket Analyst ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cricket-Analysis/645934692160810?ref_type=bookmark )
