In the on-going 3rd Test at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, hosts England sit atop of the Test match with visitors India feeling the heat of the likes of Gary Ballance and Alistair Cook.
In the on-going 3rd Test at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, hosts England sit atop of the Test match with visitors India feeling the heat of the likes of Gary Ballance and Alistair Cook.
A below-par bowling was complimented by the blemish fielding in the outfield that led to some dropped catches and miss fields. With that said, nobody has heard from the Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who was highly criticised for his negative tactics on day 1 of the 3rd Test.
His ‘excuses’ are quite a hit amongst the media and is often heard panning out his own side. That’s ‘Mahi’ for you! Well, if you want to know more, here’s a list of excuses from the Indian skipper over the years that have made the news:
Here’s what Dhoni said after losing the 2011 Lord’s Test against England:
“It became quite tough for us after losing Zaheer Khan on the first day. The pitch did not take too much turn on the first two days.”
After losing the Nottingham Test, yet again!
“I felt the bowlers were tired but their batsmen played some great shots.”
Losing the series during that wretched 2011 England tour:
“A couple of defeats doesn’t change anything I am still proud of my team. People expect us to win everything but that’s not possible.”
After losing the Melbourne Test against Australia in 2012
“We are known to be tentative starters, I think in the next game we will be slightly better.”
It did not stop there, this is what Mahi said after going 0-2 down Down Under:
“You’ll lose at times. You will face difficult times. That improves you as an individual, and as a skipper. If everything comes easily to you, then you don’t really appreciate the kind of hard work that goes into it [winning].”
After that dismal loss to Australia in the T20 World Cup in Colombo, Dhoni was quizzed over the absence of Sehwag. Here what he said, “We had only two options. I don’t like to take individual names. I think in such tournaments we should go horses for courses, and we wanted someone who is good in this format. It’s very difficult to justify why it was Sehwag who was dropped.”
During the 2014 New Zealand series, India was tamed in Kiwiland where they lost the Tests as well as the ODIs. Here’s Dhoni’s ill-timed excuse after the 4th ODI:
“When it comes to the bowling department, we are still in the same phase wherein we are still looking at who our permanent bowlers are.”
Done and Dusted, MS Dhoni’s ‘Book Of Excuses’ won’t be up for grabs (even if it is on sale) rather than the skipper should be bending his back more and spending enough time at the nets.
We need runs not words, Mahi!
