Well, one strange phenomena in the fascinating game of cricket is that if anyone fails to meet the expectations every time, he is criticized heavily without considering his glorious past contributions. Unfortunately, our great captain MS Dhoni is passing through this sad phase nowadays. From Saurav Ganguly to Rahul Dravid, Mohinder Amarnath to Bishen Bedi, everyone is ridiculing the current failure of team India on the recent tour of New Zealand and the earlier trip of South Africa.
I just intend to draw the attention of the fans to the very fact that during the year 2013, everyone had praised MS Dhoni for many consecutive series wins. West Indies, Australia and England – all of the wins were concurred by MS Dhoni with the comparatively new cricketers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan. But since we were winning, Dhoni was lauded as a talented skipper. And now when team India has lost a couple of series, Dhoni has been projected as a villain. What a turnaround! Perhaps amongst all the cricket playing nations, the benchmarks set in India are the most tough ones.
Before we move forward, a very basic question needs to be answered by the critics. Is Dhoni the one to blame for all defeats? The fundamentals of the game clearly define that it is team effort which leads to winning or losing. The captain has a limited role – confined to utilizing his resources in the most optimum way.
But if the batsmen do not score, bowlers do not take wickets, fielders keep on dropping the important catches – how is the captain held responsible? If batsmen have faulty techniques, is the captain liable? If bowlers bowl short and wide, should we blame the skipper?
For God sake, he is the same talented captain who led us to victory in one World Cup and one World T20 title. Also, he had made us number 1 in Tests. Please do not forget the numerous records under his belt.
He has got the qualities of a true leader who very often sets his own targets. He leads by example. He is among the best finishers of the world. As a wicket keeper, he has got more than 300 dismissals to his credit! I am not even referring to his countless personal records!
So, now when unfortunately he has been injured and will not be able to play in the Asia Cup beginning from 26 February in Dhaka, hopefully our learned critics will realize the deep impact of the absence of a cricketer like Mahi.
Come what may, billions of his fans have always stood by him through good and bad phases. Even now, they are standing behind him firmly with even more commitment. Love you captain, as you are the one who will emerge as a winner and hopefully give us another proud moment of a world cup win next year.
MS Dhoni – still the first choice for millions - Yahoo Cricket India