5 Reasons why MS Dhoni is criticized despite being one of the most successful cricketers of all time

MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni is probably the only cricketer in the world, who, despite achieving tremendous glory for his country, is hated as much as he is admired by the Indian cricket fans.

Ever since Dhoni made his debut in International cricket in 2004, the limited-overs skipper has endured a roller-coaster ride in the game. Dhoni as captain has managed to take his team to great heights by winning the 2007 ICC World T20, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup at home and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, among other feats. He is also India’s most successful captain, having won more Tests and ODIs than any other captain.

But the 34-year old has been criticised over the years for his poor Test record overseas, which included a string of losses in England, Australia and South Africa, which made him to announce his retirement from the longest format of the game. Apart from his poor Test record, the fact that Dhoni had a say over the selection (read non-selection) of seniors in the team on many occasions, did not go well with many fans.

Here are the top 5 reasons why MS Dhoni is criticized by some fans:

#1 Exclusion of senior players

Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh

Ever since the time Dhoni took over as captain in 2007, many youngsters from the domestic circuit were given a chance to play for India. But this also meant that seniors had to be omitted from the squad.

After India's disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign, seniors in the team including Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly drew criticism from all quarters. It was only then that Dhoni was formally appointed captain after Dravid stepped down. Barring Tendulkar, other seniors were dropped from the future ODI tours.

After India’s fortune turned around in the 2011 World Cup, many players like Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag did not get too many chances despite producing match-winning performances in the World Cup. They paved way for young, emerging talents who had justified their selection through their performance in the IPL.

None of those players featured in the 2015 World Cup probables list and Dhoni was speculated to have influenced the non-selection of these players and fans of the aforementioned cricketers did not take the news well.

#2 Failure to win Overseas Tests as captain

Indian test team under MSD had a forgettable away record

When Dhoni took over the test captaincy from Anil Kumble in 2008, a lot was expected from the Indian skipper to emulate his limited-overs form. Initially, the skipper seemed to have repaid the selector’s faith in his Test captaincy with a host of home series wins involving the mighty Australia, New Zealand and other top teams.

MS even led the team to the Number 1 position in Test rankings, for the first time in history. He also became India’s most successful test skipper when he eclipsed Dada’s (Sourav Ganguly) record of 21 Test victories.

However, the worst was yet to come. India failed to win any overseas series from 2011 onwards, having lost embarrassingly to Australia and England 4-0, and also failing to win against South Africa and New Zealand on their turf. In Dhoni’s last series against Australia down under which India again lost, there were talks about changing the Test skipper. But Dhoni soon after announced his retirement from Test cricket, midway through the series, thus handing over the reigns to Virat Kohli.

#3 Preference to CSK players

There was widespread criticism that CSK players were preferred over others

Another prominent aspect about Dhoni which raised eyebrows was his preference to give opportunities to cricketers from Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni has been captain of the CSK team since the inaugural edition of the IPL, and even led the team to victory in 2010 and 2011.

There is no doubt that IPL has produced some exceptional Indian talent over the years, with players like Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Stuart Binny, Ravi Ashwin and others excelling for India in national colours.

However, with Dhoni’s role as skipper speculated to have influenced selection over the years, there has been criticism over the fact that the Indian captain has given more opportunities to players from the CSK squad, ahead of many other deserving cricketers in the country.

#4 Keeping faith in few players despite their poor form

Ravindra Jadeja got more opportunities than other players despite his poor form

Captain Cool Dhoni is often remembered for keeping faith in his players and has sometimes backed the cricketers despite their consistent poor performance. One such notable example is star batsman Rohit Sharma. During the 2012-‘13 season, Dhoni backed the selection of Rohit Sharma and promoted him to the opener’s slot despite the latter producing a string of poor scores. However, Sharma responded brilliantly scoring runs against the visiting Australian team and even went to score a double ton, thus silencing all his critics.

But others didn’t have the same luck. Dhoni’s faith in Ravindra Jadeja didn’t produce expected results. After his dream performance in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, Jadeja’s form slowly saw a dip. Jadeja was surprisingly picked in the playing XI ahead of Ashwin during India’s tours of New Zealand and England in 2014 and had forgettable outings.

The Saurashtra all-rounder never really threatened batsmen and leaked runs regularly. His wayward bowling on tricky overseas pitches was condemned by former cricketers. Despite his poor performances, Dhoni persisted with the all-rounder, inviting flak from senior cricketers, before Jadeja was subsequently dropped.

#5 Dhoni\'s fading finishing ability

Dhoni – The finisher

MS Dhoni is widely considered to be one of the greatest finishers of the game. His finishing style is the stuff of legends. There have been numerous occasions where Dhoni has pushed India over the finishing line, and in the process, earned that incredible distinction of the Number 1 finisher in the game.

Notable games include the 2011 ICC World cup final, where Dhoni famously finished off the innings with a six, thus powering India to their second World Cup win. Another wonderful example of his exploits includes his match-winning performance in the tri-series final, involving hosts West Indies and Sri Lanka in 2013. Dhoni narrowly finished the game for India, remaining unbeaten on 45*, as India won by 1 wicket, and the skipper earned accolades.

However, there are times when Dhoni couldn’t finish the match, even though India were on the cusp of victory. Dhoni’s finishing ability has seen a steady decline over the last few months. During India’s tour of England in 2014, India who were chasing 180 in the lone T20 game, were cruising at one point at 131-2, with 50 runs needed off 34 balls. Kohli and Raina were dismissed and it was up to Dhoni to finish things for India. Requiring 17 to win off the last over, Dhoni started off well, but he refused a single on two occasions to Ambati Rayudu. India narrowly lost that match by just 3 runs and Dhoni drew sharp criticism over his behaviour.