Mahendra Singh Dhoni is arguably India’s greatest captain ever. He has won ICC 50 Overs World Cup, T20 World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, Indian Premier League (IPL), Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), and he has also taken Indian cricket to No. 1 ranking in Test cricket. But, this piece is not about MS Dhoni’s achievements. This piece is about his role as a leader of Indian cricket and how he has let his fans and countrymen down by not speaking on the topic that effect the integrity of Indian cricket.
During the toss time or even during the post-match interviews, MS Dhoni loves to talk about the cricketing matters and he is someone who loves his analysis. Dhoni is never shy of speaking about the field placements, batting order and other tactical things. But, when it comes to matters like corruption, BCCI’s bullying and spot-fixing, MS Dhoni never, ever says a thing.
We are not asking Dhoni to come out and explain everything about corruption and spot-fixing, but as a leader of the Indian cricket team, it is his responsibility to come out and say a few words of re-assurance, when the Indian cricket is being surrounded by the dark clouds of corruption. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly made sure that people don’t lose faith in Indian cricket after the match-fixing scandal that happened under Mohammad Azharuddin in the year 2000.
Sourav Ganguly, unlike MS Dhoni, came out in full public domain and said:
“These match fixing things have put cricket down. But, one thing I want to say, 14 people can’t be blamed for a wrong which somebody else has done. I am not taking anybody’s name but if somebody has made a mistake, the present 14-lot can’t be blamed,” said Ganguly in an interview after the match-fixing scandal.
MS Dhoni, on the other hand, decided to seal his mouth and didn’t say a word after the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal. Dhoni, who is a very inspirational leader on the field, sent out a very negative message by not talking about an incident that shook Indian cricket lovers, an incident that hurt fans’ feelings and an incident that raised questions on the integrity of Indian cricket.
Indian cricket lovers have a very short-term memory and on-field achievements can easily overshadow everything else in the world. But, it is MS Dhoni’s utmost responsibility, as the captain of Indian cricket team, to live up to the expectations of his fans and countrymen.
Through this piece, we want to ask three questions to one of India’s greatest captains ever:
1) Dear MS Dhoni, why did you not speak after the IPL spot-fixing scandal?
2) Dear MS Dhoni, why have you not cleared your stance on the corruption allegations on Chennai Super Kings (CSK)?
3) Dear MS Dhoni, why do you always ignore questions (on corruption, fixing and BCCI’s bullying) that effect the integrity of Indian cricket?
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DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Cricket Lounge
