Just a few Februaries ago, there was a captain who could not put a foot wrong.
It was circa 2011, and MS Dhoni had been riding on the crest of series victories over Australia and New Zealand in both Tests and ODIs.
Even the Test series in South Africa (yes, that perennial 'away' tour bogey) was managed and salvaged with a respectable 1-1.
After the crest, came the crescendo - the ultimate - a World Cup victory, culminating in an incredible season of achievements and never-seen highs.
The unprecedented crests and highs were followed by the troughs and never-seen lows: the disastrous tours to England, Australia, the heart-wrenching home-series-loss to England, followed by the recent losses in South Africa and New Zealand.
The only reason MS has not had the axe is because we are talking about a man for whom the only cricketing trophy/tournament that he has played in and is yet to lift, is the Ranji Trophy!
The always-hallowed World Cup victories - in T20 as well as the ODI format, Test# 1 ranking, Champions Trophy victory, beating Australia on home turf in ODIs, even conquering the IPL and Champions League - the glitziest medals from all these competitions adorn the shelves of his cupboard.
However, this is not about results or stats alone. Not about just wins or losses.
As a matter of fact, not for nothing were questions raised about Dhoni's approach, even when India won the Test series but played out a draw in Dominica, West Indies - opting for an ultra-defensive approach and shutting shop in a possible chase for victory in the last Test, knowing that a draw was enough for the series win.
As Sidharth Monga points out, there have been quite a few such instances where Dhoni's defensive, meandering, unimaginative and / or simply reactive tactics have let the opposition rise from ruins, far too often for one's liking.
Given the increasing number of such instances, there has also been a proportional increase in a clamor for MS Dhoni to either change his approach or be changed.
The upcoming Asia Cup will also provide us with a glimpse of the mettle of Virat Kohli as captain.
Given the fact that (form and fitness being much the same as today), he is the one youngster who is a certainty for India in all formats of the game for the next few years to come, he is the best choice as heir apparent to MSD.
However, I am still not prepared to throw in the towel just yet.
I still believe MS will understand and introspect about what he is not doing as well as he should or can.
Just the way MS has persisted with quite a few players and given them a long(er?) rope during their lean times, I believe given all the achievements he has garnered at the helm, he too deserves to be given some extra time as well, in delivering outside home conditions.
Most importantly, the break might also help him analyze and hopefully galvanize himself, into becoming a lot more imaginative, dynamic and aggressive skipper.
Unless Dhoni delivers outside the subcontinent (yes, that ultimate benchmark for all Asian teams to get the 'tigers-at-home-lambs-abroad' monkey off their backs) - with, if not results, at least with sharper, better and more aggressive captaincy - the Februaries of 2010-11 will seem even more years away.
As a fan, as a pragmatic optimist, one is still hopeful that he will find a way to remodel himself into being more aggressive than defensive, and more proactive than reactive, in the near future.
All the best, MS!
It was circa 2011, and MS Dhoni had been riding on the crest of series victories over Australia and New Zealand in both Tests and ODIs.
Even the Test series in South Africa (yes, that perennial 'away' tour bogey) was managed and salvaged with a respectable 1-1.
After the crest, came the crescendo - the ultimate - a World Cup victory, culminating in an incredible season of achievements and never-seen highs.
The unprecedented crests and highs were followed by the troughs and never-seen lows: the disastrous tours to England, Australia, the heart-wrenching home-series-loss to England, followed by the recent losses in South Africa and New Zealand.
The only reason MS has not had the axe is because we are talking about a man for whom the only cricketing trophy/tournament that he has played in and is yet to lift, is the Ranji Trophy!
The always-hallowed World Cup victories - in T20 as well as the ODI format, Test# 1 ranking, Champions Trophy victory, beating Australia on home turf in ODIs, even conquering the IPL and Champions League - the glitziest medals from all these competitions adorn the shelves of his cupboard.
However, this is not about results or stats alone. Not about just wins or losses.
As a matter of fact, not for nothing were questions raised about Dhoni's approach, even when India won the Test series but played out a draw in Dominica, West Indies - opting for an ultra-defensive approach and shutting shop in a possible chase for victory in the last Test, knowing that a draw was enough for the series win.
As Sidharth Monga points out, there have been quite a few such instances where Dhoni's defensive, meandering, unimaginative and / or simply reactive tactics have let the opposition rise from ruins, far too often for one's liking.
Given the increasing number of such instances, there has also been a proportional increase in a clamor for MS Dhoni to either change his approach or be changed.
The upcoming Asia Cup will also provide us with a glimpse of the mettle of Virat Kohli as captain.
Given the fact that (form and fitness being much the same as today), he is the one youngster who is a certainty for India in all formats of the game for the next few years to come, he is the best choice as heir apparent to MSD.
However, I am still not prepared to throw in the towel just yet.
I still believe MS will understand and introspect about what he is not doing as well as he should or can.
Just the way MS has persisted with quite a few players and given them a long(er?) rope during their lean times, I believe given all the achievements he has garnered at the helm, he too deserves to be given some extra time as well, in delivering outside home conditions.
Most importantly, the break might also help him analyze and hopefully galvanize himself, into becoming a lot more imaginative, dynamic and aggressive skipper.
Unless Dhoni delivers outside the subcontinent (yes, that ultimate benchmark for all Asian teams to get the 'tigers-at-home-lambs-abroad' monkey off their backs) - with, if not results, at least with sharper, better and more aggressive captaincy - the Februaries of 2010-11 will seem even more years away.
As a fan, as a pragmatic optimist, one is still hopeful that he will find a way to remodel himself into being more aggressive than defensive, and more proactive than reactive, in the near future.
All the best, MS!
