ABC of MSD

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has proved his credentials in the abridged versions of cricket with a remarkable authority. He led India to triumph in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year, and then recorded an ODI series win against the home team in Australia.

India may have faltered in the ODI tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup in Pakistan, but no one could find fault in Dhoni’s leadership and batting skills in the ODI series against Sri Lanka in Lanka, which India swept 3-2. It was the first time that India had won a one-day series in Sri Lanka.

Dhoni’s excellent cricket acumen, leadership skills and agile wicket-keeping ability have been proven time and again. But his match-winning batting skills in the abridged version of the game are an added advantage to the team. It was only because of Dhoni’s astute shuffling of batsmen and bowlers and his own uninhibited batting that India could contain the spin tricks of Muthaiah Muralitharan and his prodigy Ajantha Mendis and tame the Lankans in their own den. Dhoni’s bagging the Man of the Series award was proof enough of his immense contribution to the team’s victories.

Muralitharan has also described Dhoni’s performance as the "foundation stone" of India’s match-winning feats.

"We negotiated Murali well and I thought we tackled Mendis well, too. The more we played him, the better we got," Dhoni had said in Lanka.

And Mahi has got better at his decision-making as well where his own game is concerned. He recently opted out of the Test series against Sri Lanka citing fatigue as the reason.

Dhoni said it seemed to be a wise choice as the much-needed rest helped him recharge his mental and physical energy to be battle fit for the ODI event. "When you feel like you want to go under the shade, that’s when you know your body needs rest."

Dhoni’s success in the shorter versions of the game, with a bunch of talented youngsters, has strengthened his claim for Test captaincy as well, though Anil Kumble has proved to be an excellent leader and intelligent skipper.

The recent statement of former Pakistani skipper Wasim Akram that Dhoni should replace Kumble as Test captain has once again kicked up the debate over captaincy.

Though many players and board officials think that this demanding job may stifle his wicket-keeping and batting performances.

Sooner or later, Dhoni will get the Test captaincy. But he’s not unduly bothered about the issue, though he did lead India, in Kumble’s absence, to a series-levelling Test victory against South Africa in Kanpur this year.

The T20 captaincy he took as a matter of fact, but Dhoni was certainly surprised when he was given charge of the ODI team as well when Rahul Dravid stepped down after the series against England in England. The common refrain is that his batting and wicket-keeping will suffer if he is made captain as Test cricket is a different ball game and he still lacks the requisite experience.

But in Dhoni’s scheme of things, experience doesn’t really count, though talent and the will to go the whole hog for the cause of the team does.

Dhoni’s philosophy towards captaincy is, "A captain can only do so much. He can identify the problem areas, share responsibilities and keep the team united and motivated. But ultimately, it’s up to individuals how they respond to challenges."

Dhoni’s emphasis on youth does not mean that he wants a complete overhaul of the present Indian team. "You do miss great players." But his preference for young players still gets precedence over persistence with senior players, tried and tested in the past but not delivering at present.

"It helps to have a young side. You want batsmen who run well and put pressure on the opposition. A good fielding side that can convert chances always make a total look 15-20 runs more than it actually is." And he also favours a long reign for the young players so that the sword of ouster doesn’t shatter their confidence after one or two failures.

"To perform better, one needs to be relaxed. That feeling can only come with the knowledge that one won’t be dropped after one or two failures. In the end, it’s all about working as a unit," Dhoni had said in defence of his plan.

While former India pacer Javagal Srinath is impressed with Dhoni’s "collective efforts" and his "strong leadership", his Ranji Trophy coach from Jharkhand V Venkatram thinks that the time is not ripe for Dhoni to be burdened with Test captaincy before he consolidates his game in the longer version of cricket.

The opinions may vary but it is no denying the fact that Dhoni’s big test will come during the home series against Australia next month. — M.S.U.