He is back with a bang, silencing his critics and winning hearts with his new-found energy. The swagger is pronounced after days of meek ambling on the cricket field.
For Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the win at Indore, laced with his 92, was a peep into the past. The knock was resplendent with ground strokes and some robust ones in the air that confirmed his authority at the crease.
Dhoni re-discovered himself on a wonderful night after having re-invented his approach. The dashing icon of self confidence is back to playing on his terms and also reiterating to the world that he is firmly ensconced as the man making all the decisions.
“Virat (Kohli) is somebody who can bat at No. 4. It’ll be fantastic to have him at No. 3, but if you see the overall strength, it increases when (Ajinkya) Rahane is at No. 3, and Virat is at No. 4. We’d like to give it a go. But as far as the game is concerned, Rahane has definitely capitalised on it. Virat not so much. And No. 4 is still not too low, he still gets to bat 30 overs, and I feel the kind of talent he has, in 30 overs itself, he can score big hundreds. That’s the story of No. 3 and No. 4.”
It was as emphatic a statement on Rahane and Kohli as can be expected of Dhoni. The India skipper was lavish in praising Rahane. “Also, the fact that Rahane, I feel, is somebody who can do more damage at the top of the innings. He is a quality player. What I’ve seen in a couple of innings is, he’s batting with a bit more freedom. He’s somebody who can score a lot of runs through proper cricketing shots. And the more time he spends batting No. 3, you’ll see his game will evolve more.”
Dhoni, with two World Cups titles as captain, loves to dominate. “Once I left Test cricket I thought now I want to enjoy my ODI cricket. I want to bat up the order. But when I come over here and see my team I find it very difficult to just promote myself because you have the pressure of who is going to bat at No. 5, 6 and 7. No. 7 is a very crucial position. If you see stretches of teams who have done well, the lower (order) has contributed a lot irrespective of the format. So that was the reason again I came back and still batting at No. 5 or 6.”
Dhoni is a leader and here is proof. “I find it very difficult to put pressure on some of the youngsters in the team. After playing so many ODIs if I can’t do it then there are not many who would do it. It’s something that I have to do. It’s easier said than done for me to say that I want to bat at No. 4 but I will have to look at the side and then decide the slot.”
So, the debate on No. 3, 4 and 5 is settled now. Also, one can expect an end to needless post-mortem of Dhoni’s captaincy and batting. He is 34 but competes with the youngest. Watch him sprint back for the third run and you know Dhoni is not a burden on the squad at all. He is, in reality, an asset. People may wait with open swords but Dhoni it is who has all the fun. He knew when to stop playing Test cricket. He will also know when to quit ODIs. Let us allow him to take that decision.
Indian manager fined India manager Vinod Phadke on Thursday was fined 40 per cent of his match fee after he was found guilty of making inappropriate comments about umpire Vineet Kulkarni.
Phadke was found to have breached Article 2.1.3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “Public criticism of, or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an International Match or any Player, Player Support Personnel, Match official or team participating in any International Match.”
