When things don’t go your way, questions crop up from within yourself as well as from outside. India ODI captain M.S. Dhoni is besieged by several questions following his team’s two comprehensive losses to Bangladesh.
The Indian camp is trying to cope with its batting failure after being thoroughly exposed by 19-year-old Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman. A batting unit that looked set a few months ago in the World Cup now appears disoriented.
In a surprising move, Dhoni dropped the dependable Ajinkya Rahane, who had been serving the team well in the middle-order, to make room for Ambati Rayudu in the second ODI. It demanded an explanation.
Rahane on slow pitches“We all felt Rahane would do really well as a third opener. We have seen that he plays a lot better on pitches that have some pace.
“But on a slow pitch, whenever he has played for us at No.4 or 5, then he does have a problem in rotating the strike, especially at the beginning. It’s not easy,” Dhoni explained.
Dhoni said since Rohit had “earned his place” as an opener, “Ajinkya will have to wait.”
Recently, Dhoni had hinted at pushing himself up the batting order and he did that by walking in at No. 4 in the second match. “For the last four or five years, I have done the same role.
“I try to bat at No.6 and there is always some kind of pressure and I am not able to bat freely. So I wanted to bat up, go after the bowlers a bit.
“I have adapted to what the team really needed of me since 2006. But, for the longer term, it is very important for us to see who can bat well at No.6 and 7, even maybe No. 5.
“That is why I pushed Raina down... if I go up, there will be somebody who is experienced enough to bat at that number.
No. 7 batsmanDhoni tried hard to explain how Ravindra Jadeja fits into the No. 7 slot. “It’s always difficult for someone like Jadeja to justify his selection from a batting point of view because more often than not the No. 7 batsman doesn’t get to bat.”
Dhoni was not sure whether fatigue could be a reason for the team’s reverses. He was not even sure whether he would continue to shuffle the batting order even though, according to him, this was the best time to do all the experimenting.
For Dhoni, questions casting aspersions on his captaincy were not justified. “If it is a justifiable thing that you remove me and Indian cricket will start doing really well, and if I am the reason for all the bad that is happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step down and continue as a player.
Reins given to me“Ultimately, you want India to win. It doesn’t matter who the captain is. I was never really in line to become the captain. It was given to me, I took it.
“If they want to take it away, I am happy to give it away. For me, what is more important is to play for the country and contribute to the team, and try to keep the dressing-room atmosphere good so that whenever youngsters come in they can perform. That will be the ultimate achievement for me.
“Also, it is slightly different. Indian cricket had been used to players coming in toned, ready for international cricket. Now it has changed. You have to go through the grind to make it.
“Cricket has changed. We have had tough times, but that’s what cricket is all about. You can’t win every series.”
