M. S. Dhoni: An enigma (in white) like none other

Was always a more effective captain for shorter versions of the game

He chose an inexperienced medium pace bowler ahead of an experienced spinner to bowl the last over of the T20 World Cup. He promoted himself, the captain of the team who until then had a lean patch to bat at number 4 in the 2011 World Cup finals. He brought back a bowler who had bowled dreadful spells earlier to bowl at a crucial stage in the Champions Trophy in 2013.

All these instinctive moves were master strokes.

The journey

A boy’s travails from a small village to the most coveted position of Indian Cricket is no less than a miraculous achievement. The man worked hard and deserved it all. It is widely believed that Cricket happened to him and not the other way around.

He must certainly be credited for all that Team India has achieved in the limited over format of the game. Team India has won most of the limited over titles under his reign. He has played a big part in the team winning all those titles.

But he never seemed to be a test match element. He himself would have doubted himself wearing the white jersey. So unorthodox was his technique.

But he made it to the test team. He adapted. He found ways to score runs in the longer format with his unique, unusual technique. Anyone else with such an unorthodox batting style would not have sustained in the longer format as long as the man has. He started to score runs, heaps of them in friendly conditions.

Like how cricket happened to him, 2011 happened to him. He led his team to the pinnacle of limited over Cricket. It earned him respect, rewards, joy and almost everything that a Cricket player would want.

The struggle with the longer version of the game

But at the same time, the game played with the red ball gave him headaches more than anything else. The struggle started in the tour of England. The conditions abroad didn’t help him. The red ball which was acting according to his wishes at home didn’t co-operate.

The tour tested Dhoni: the batsman and Dhoni, the captain. Both of them failed.

0-4, 0-4, 0-1, 0-1, 1-3, 0-2 are the margins by which Team India under Dhoni has lost foreign tours since 2011.

It was unusual that a captain who has been greatly successful in one day cricket should fail miserably in test cricket recently, especially in the foreign tours. Is it due to the balance that you need between bat and ball in test match cricket? Considering this balance, have the Indian bowlers let him down? Has the cricket board failed to help his cause when it came to the longer format?

He must have asked all these questions inside his head. He must have often seen a bright spot when the team was in convincing positions in all these test matches. The same spot would have become darker and darker when his magic failed to work. He himself must not have understood this phenomenon. The commentators and the fans have blamed him for being defensive and that ultimately led to the losses outside Asia. Most of the times, the team had gone down without a fight.

The longer format needed more discipline.

It did not want a Captain who asked his young bowlers to try unfruitful variations when they were surprisingly bowling good line and hitting the right length.

It did not want a Captain who would use part time bowlers at crucial moments. It did not want a Captain who tried way too much without doing the basics right.

Dhoni’s instincts were his strength whenever he wore blue or yellow. When he wore white, those instincts brought no good to him, his bowlers and of course his team.

Dhoni the batsman was a less prominent failure. The conditions were unfriendly for him like it was for most of his team mates. The struggle seemed exaggerated with his technique. Each time he poked at a ball outside the off stump, he found a new hater. Rarely have we seen a captain’s knock from Dhoni. The former situation is in stark contrast with the limited over version, where we have seen numerous match-winning knocks.

A comeback was expected, an improvement was expected. But that never happened.

He was questioned, he questioned himself. He did not know the answer. He came to know that he cannot find one. He has been struggling, and so has the team. The struggles have not yielded favorable results. He has decided to end the struggle and rightfully so. Passing on the baton is a crucial, paramount stage, and it seems like he has done so at the appropriate juncture. It takes courage to do what he has done and that too without a fuss.

The 33 year old Captain no more wants to wear white and lead 10 men.