What’s with Team India skipper MS Dhoni these days? Has been ‘˜smoking up’ at the pressers or just giving his piece of mind?
What’s with Team India skipper MS Dhoni these days? Has been ‘smoking up’ at the pressers or just giving his piece of mind?
Whatever the reason, the captain let out a shocker of a statement when asked about coach Duncan Fletcher’s role in the five ODIs against England.
After the 1-3 Test debacle at the hands of England, Team India went through a major reshuffle in the coaching staff (BCCI motive) with bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding consultant Trevor Penney forced to go on a break and BCCI appointing Ravi Shastri as the Team Director but ‘Mahi’s’ statement says otherwise.
“He will lead us into the World Cup,” said Dhoni referring to the coach. “Also he is still the boss. We have Ravi Shastri who will look into everything, but Fletcher is the boss. It’s not as if his powers or his position have been curtailed. I don’t know what you feel from the outside, but operations still remain the same. We have a few other support staff coming into the dressing room, but overall the operation remains the same,” said the 2011 World Cup winner.
But is Duncan Fletcher the right person to lead India especially with the World Cup around the corner? Besides the 2013 Champions Trophy, India has underperformed overseas with Fletcher and Dhoni at helm. It’s time BCCI got rid of the rigid Zimbabwean and here are the reasons to prove it:
1 – Dhoni’s pet
The first thing that comes to the mind after seeing MS Dhoni come in support of Duncan Fletcher! It seems that the Indian skipper has made the Zimbabwean his ‘pet dog’ even after numerous occasions where India was drubbed or outplayed. Never has the former England coach come forward and given his view on the Indian team or about Dhoni’s captaincy. Strange isn’t it?
2 – Lack of thinking ahead
Team India failed to win a Test series overseas against the bigger opposition because the former had no fresh ideas at stake. The management of Duncan Fletcher and MS Dhoni have stopped thinking forward and that’s what cost them the England series. The field settings, batting orders, bowlers’ selection etc were one of the many ideas that Fletcher and co. could not sort it out!
3 – Bizarre team selections
During the 3rd Test at Southampton, instead of going on the attack, MS Dhoni and Fletcher played ‘defensive’ as they decided to add Rohit Sharma as an extra batsman. If Team India would have gone for the kill and included Ravi Ashwin in the team, the outcome could have been different. Also, the inclusion of Gautam Gambhir in the final Test was a inane call from the team management.
4 – Where’s the ‘killer instinct’?
At the Lord’s Test, India were pumped and raring to go at the English especially after the Jadeja-Andeson fiasco had taken place. Rewind 2007, when the ‘jellybean gate’ took place, Team India responded with a fine series victory but at present, this side did not have any. After a fine victory at Lord’s, why did Fletcher and Dhoni adopt a cynical approach? The bowlers lacked hunger for wickets whereas the batsmen were totally not in sound form.
5 – Repetitive mistakes over and over again
If Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara committed the same mistakes during their dismissals, the same can be said of Duncan Fletcher. The coach was unable to fix the issues plaguing the batsmen especially have a reliable knowledge of the English conditions (former coach). Dhoni’s wicket-keeping skills were poor as well as the fielding was lethargic especially the slips. The bowlers had no idea of the lengths to bowl at and were outplayed by rookie English batsmen.
All in all, if Team India are to defend their Word Cup title in Australia/New Zealand next year, the dismissal of Duncan Fletcher should the first priority of BCCI. With the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid ready to help, Dhoni and his young turks need broad minded mentor rather than a sitting duck!
