Why MS Dhoni is looking a good limited-overs captain again

Shikhar Dhawan has looked a different batsman in the last few matches

Little did anyone know that the tide was to shift from there on. India went into the T20I series that followed and dominated it thoroughly to win it 3-0. Suddenly, the positivity was back. The belief was back.

Everybody started to talk about how India were favourites for the World T20 and that line-of-thought only gained further momentum when the Indians beat Sri Lanka 2-1 on Sunday.

A fizzing off-spinner, quality pace attack,& the return of Dhawan

So what has changed for MS Dhoni, that has made him look like the admirable leader that he has always been in limited-overs cricket?

1.The fizzing off-spinner is back: After proving to be ineffective in the first 2 ODIs against Australia, Ashwin was dropped for the remainder of the ODIs, but ever since returning to the T20 setup, he has looked every bit of the bowler that we saw in 2015.

He’s been flighting the ball, allowing it to dip on the batsman, and has been fetching scalps the way he should- with good, conventional off-spin bowling.

Also, his ability to deliver in different situations in the game has most definitely helped Dhoni’s cause. In Australia, Ashwin delivered after Australia had got off to a good start in both Adelaide and Melbourne, and in the series against Sri Lanka, he was asked to bowl with the new ball and he came good again.

2.The refreshing change to India’s pace attack: Sanjay Manjrekar last year made a point about Sreenath Aravind’s selection into the side for the series against South Africa, stating that he should be tried out just to change the attack a bit, that was portraying a look of sameness with Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit etc forming the trio consistently.

For the 2016 tour to Australia, the selectors not just picked one seamer in Barinder Sran, a move that looked completely out-of-the-blue, they also rewarded Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for their domestic exploits. We have already seen how fruitful, especially the last 2 selections, have proven out to be.

In Bumrah, Dhoni seems to have finally found someone he had been craving for- a death bowler who could execute yorkers regularly, and in Pandya, another commodity that he feels is a must in the shorter formats- a bowling all-rounder who would give him a few overs and be handy with the bat down the order.

3.The return of the real Dhawan: Ever since the 4th ODI against Australia, something or someone has switched on the button that is within Shikhar Dhawan. The left-hander, who has always been such an enigma for his ability to produce impactful innings has shown in the recent times about what he can do when he comes off.

Barring the T20 at Adelaide, he played a key role in building the foundation along with Rohit Sharma in Melbourne and Sydney, and at Ranchi, in a must-win against Sri Lanka, he scored his maiden half-century as India put up a total that proved far too good for the visitors.

Barring the above 3 notable changes, there are few other things as well that have worked for him. The good old instincts seem to be back, as was evident in Sydney in the final T20 when he sent a raw Yuvraj Singh ahead of him when it was he who had spent more time in the middle.

Ahead of the World T20, India play the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, and Dhoni, as well as the whole of India, would be hoping that the cohesiveness of this side remains intact in Bangladesh and at the carnival that follows.