Kohli and Dhoni and the division of labour in ODI cricket

It is a wonderful system so long as it is effective but not so if there is any confusion especially under pressure

March 19, 2019 07:13 pm | Updated 09:21 pm IST

Indian captain Virat Kohli along with M.S. Dhoni setting the field during a One Day International cricket match between India and England at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. File

Indian captain Virat Kohli along with M.S. Dhoni setting the field during a One Day International cricket match between India and England at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. File

Watching Virat Kohli captain India in the white ball series against Australia, one thing stood out. He was happy to let former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni call the shots when India were fielding.

Indian teams in the past have been led in two different ways: captaincy by the individual and captaincy by committee. Now here is a third, captaincy split between the batting captain and fielding captain. Not entirely, of course, but significantly. Kohli often fielded out of range of the wicketkeeper or bowler, relying on Dhoni’s rapport with the spinners in particular to see their spells through.

There is nothing inherently right or wrong, good or bad about this so long as the captains are on the same page and the lines of authority are clearly drawn. But what happens when there is a disagreement, even a minor one?

Handling the burden

Indian captains have often been burdened by the inclusion in the team of former captains. Dhoni himself led teams with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Virender Sehwag in them; all had led earlier. He has spoken of the advice he got from the seniors fielding in the slips or from his other colleagues – but there was no doubt who was in charge, and who made the decisions. Advice was sought and received, but there was no question of anyone else leading the team. There was a non-interference policy in place.

In general, however, seniors have expected younger captains to kowtow to them and behaved like visiting mothers-in-law happy to point out mistakes. The two senior men in Mohammad Azharuddin’s team on his first tour as captain even embarrassed him by scrapping on the field.

“The seniors will always resent you if they have been passed over for captaincy in your favour,” the late Tiger Pataudi once told me, “There is nothing you can do except ensure you have the support of the youngsters.” It worked for Pataudi when he was made captain at 21 when every other member of the team was senior to him!

But Dhoni gave up the captaincy voluntarily after a successful run in all three formats. He thus brings to the team experience untainted by ambition, a moral authority that cannot be dismissed easily. Cricket is a team game, and it would be easy to imagine that the self-interest of eleven players somehow add up to team interest. This is not always true; perhaps sometimes not even desirable.

Different perspective

As Mike Brearley wrote in his classic on captaincy, a captain has no place to hide. Yet, an arrangement such as the Dhoni-Kohli one might allow Kohli to look at a game from a different perspective and keep himself mentally fresh if there is a long chase to come.

Dhoni’s directives to the spinners captured by the stump mic have been both pragmatic and effective. He instructs, explains why and then adds, “but its up to you”. It has been a treat in recent months.

In Dhoni, India have one of the format’s great players and captains, and it would be a pity if all that experience (341 matches, 200 as captain; only Stephen Fleming and Ricky Ponting have led in more) didn’t come into play at his final World Cup.

The question is how to do this. Do you simply allow him to be the fielding captain and make all decisions or should he be merely an ideas man, passing on his thoughts to Kohli and letting him take the call?

And what happens if there is a disagreement? Does the captain’s word prevail, as it should, or will the man behind the wickets who has got most things right pull out the ‘experience’ card to get his way? And how does all this affect the rest of the team? It isn’t difficult see two factions forming — we have seen that often enough in the past.

Working arrangement

I am not sure if Kohli and Dhoni have thrashed things out in detail. They will need to in order to avoid any embarrassment at the World Cup. It is a wonderful system so long as it is effective, not so wonderful if there is any confusion especially under pressure.

Unlike in most other team games, the cricket captain commands great authority on the field of play. His word is law. He rises or sinks by his tactics which may be built on experience or logic or intuition or all of the above. He consults his players, but is aware that the final decision is his.

Captaincy is a difficult job, and anything that makes it it easier for the individual or the team should be welcomed. Shared captaincy might be a feature of the World Cup or ODI thereafter if India’s strategy succeeds.

After all, specialisation is a powerful force. But it is important to be aware of the pitfalls.

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