This has been the most debated topic recently in the Indian cricketing community and in this article, I am going to express my views about it. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a once-in-a-generation player, is finally nearing his end after an illustrious career but he has still got a lot in him which can benefit Indian cricket. He is dropped from the T20 side for the series against West Indies and Australia and again being called up for the series against New Zealand, within a month, has sparked a lot of speculation. Keeping the selection committee’s decisions aside, let us discuss what MSD brings with himself.
A RESPONSIBLE BATSMAN
Many people think that this just an excuse to justify Dhoni’s falling strike rate but fail to understand the importance of having a player of his temperament in the middle order. With passing time everyone has felt the finisher in him fading but very few have witnessed the rise of an even stable player. He took one year to change his game, to transform from ‘the finisher’ Dhoni to ‘the anchor’ Dhoni who can one end tight and can change gears when needed too. In 2019 we saw how successful the changed Dhoni was, it started with a string of 3 consecutive half-centuries in the One-Dayers against Australia and went on into the current T20 series against New Zealand. He top scored in the first game of the T20 series, 39 off 31 balls, where only two batsmen crossed the 20 run mark and in the second T20 made sure India cruised to victory with 7 more balls to go. This year might be the one which will see the resurgence of batsman Dhoni and strengthen his place in next years T20 World Cup.
A BRILLIANT STRATEGIST
Well, it is something that has been proved during Dhoni’s captaincy reign and unlike fitness and for,m it gets better with the course of time. His field positioning has been immaculate since the time he donned the captain’s role and it continues even now as he extends his helping hand to the current skipper, Virat Kohli. Although many argue that Kohli has been captaining the team long enough to do the job alone but no one can say when he may encounter a tough situation and left stranded for help in the middle of an important game. On the other hand,d what is the harm if you have an experienced batsman like Dhoni who can help you take those tough decisions. It would have been a different case had Dhoni been underperforming, but that’s not the case now.
A MENTOR FOR THE BOWLERS
Young bowlers need someone to guide them on the field, give small yet effective tips to carry out the plan and who else than Dhoni who reads the batsman so very well from behind the stumps. We have seen him guiding Ashwin and Jadeja then and Kuldeep and Chahal now. Nothing has changed with the way he operates from behind the stumps, like a control room for the spinners. The way he reads the batsman is like he is making them do things. His input from behind the stumps and perfect field setting has earned Indian spinners bountiful wickets. Having such a versatile player who can bat in crunch situations, help the captain tackle tough situations on the field and guide bowlers, what else does a team need. The only problem he had, which was batting form, is now sorted and we have got back the vintage Dhoni but with a twist in the way he batted. He also brings with himself his intricate glove skills, the lightning fast stumpings and the brilliant run outs, adding a whole different dimension to his game. Having said so much about him, I don’t see a reason why he is not India’s first choice keeper in the upcoming T20 World Cup except for the fact that he doesn’t declare his retirement before that but we really hope he doesn’t do so and we get see Mahi win two World Cups in two successive years.
