MS Dhoni – Man of the moment in Indian cricket

Oct 23, 2008 Cricket

If there was one hugely significant fact brought home during the recently concluded second Test between India and Australia, I thought it was the emergence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Indian cricket’s man of the moment.

From the time he burst on the scene as a hard hitting middle order wicket-keeper batsman to the time he led India to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup last year, and now as a substitute captain at Mohali, scripting one of India’s biggest wins against the Aussies, Dhoni has certainly come a long way. As a batsman, he has curbed his tendency to lash out at each ball, and now prefers to build his innings, while still keeping his impressive strike rate intact, knowing the importance of his wicket to the opposition. This has made him an even more dangerous middle-lower order batsman as was seen at Mohali.

The thing that has always struck me about him is his natural flair and tendency to think out of the box, whether it be his faith in some bowlers (getting a rookie to bowl the final over of the T20 World Cup), field settings (putting leg slips in place while Hussey and Katich were batting in the recent Test), shuffling the batting order et al. He seems to have a feel for the game and has the ability to spot an opportunity, back his instincts and go for the kill. The best part is that his team also responds by putting in that extra bit to justify his decision. He is also a captain who ‘carries’ his team with him.

I also feel there is one big difference between him and Kumble; The latter, from the old school, likes to conform to a set pattern, does all he thinks is possible, and then waits for things to happen on their own, whereas Dhoni prefers to make changes, break the pattern and make things happen ! This is what puts the opposition on the back foot, besides enlivening the proceedings as well. All of his actions and methods do not always yield the desired results, but nobody can accuse him of not trying.

For the moment, he is working out fine as wicketkeeper-batsman-captain, though in the long run, I’m not sure how much his wicket-keeping and captaincy will go together, both being highly stressful jobs, and only time will tell if he can successfully combine both.

Way to go, MSD !!