For how Long can MSD be the captain due to the TINA factor?

[bharat297]

Agree with the above post. With low scores its more incentive to attack because you desperately need wickets. I think his captaincy has become more and more defensive over the past couple of years. But the TINA factor is the reality. Our test side will undergo drastic changes over the next 2-3 years. The big 3 will go and I suspect Zaheer won't be around for much longer (given his injury concerns). Possibly Sehwag, but his attitude appears indifferent a lot. Gambhir is an option but he needs to sort out his form first. Can't be any of the big 3. Kohli has a few obvious attitude problems and in any case hasn't even cemented his spot yet. If players like Dinesh Karthik held on to their spot, then they could have been options.

[Sid]

I am looking forward to a more aggrashive kaptaan now more than ever simply because to observe what changes the new kaptaan brings to our **** seam bowling attack in test kirkut.

[Lord]

I am looking forward to a more aggrashive kaptaan now more than ever simply because to observe what changes the new kaptaan brings to our **** seam bowling attack in test kirkut.

cant do any worse,so we have hope

[achilles]

We have no alternative. We know that. Dhoni knows that. The opposition knows that too. Our future captains are busy trying to play the short ball, warming benches or showing the crowd the finger.

[chainsmoker1985]

S Ganguly was already talking about Gautam Gambhir as the next captain in tests, today in the post match review

[Karan114]

S Ganguly was already talking about Gautam Gambhir as the next captain in tests' date=' today in the post match review[/quote'] Gambhir needs to end the speculation about his spot first. A big hundred tomorrow will, a 70 or 80 won't.

[achilles]

S Ganguly was already talking about Gautam Gambhir as the next captain in tests' date=' today in the post match review[/quote'] A Captain needs to be consistent before thinking about/being suggested for captaincy. Otherwise we'll have the Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Dhoni scenarios playing all over again./

[rkt.india]

how cant we blame captain for lack of tactica..look at this we let australia score 622 runs for the loss of just one wicket.

[adi B]

How much more daft can u get seriously?

how much brainwashed dhobi fan can u become ....probably still living in denial that he won us the wc, so he`s the best nd all that ****

[adi B]

A Captain needs to be consistent before thinking about/being suggested for captaincy. Otherwise we'll have the Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Dhoni scenarios playing all over again./

lol @ ur pic

[J P K]

We have no alternative. We know that. Dhoni knows that. The opposition knows that too. Our future captains are busy trying to play the short ball, warming benches or showing the crowd the finger.

A Captain needs to be consistent before thinking about/being suggested for captaincy. Otherwise we'll have the Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Dhoni scenarios playing all over again./

:dito:

[BeautifulGame]

how cant we blame captain for lack of tactica..look at this we let australia score 622 runs for the loss of just one wicket.

Yet on that same pitch our top six can only muster a pathetic 120 runs.So how do u blame the bowlers or captain when the batsmen put a ridiculous below par score on a absolute flat wicket. Did u watch Aus bowling today? They had deep cover and deep square leg for Sachin right from the first ball despite having a lead of 400.Because the wicket is flat and outfield is lightening quick.If we tried to attack the would have declared yesterday itself.

[BeautifulGame]

how much brainwashed dhobi fan can u become ....probably still living in denial that he won us the wc' date=' so he`s the best nd all that ****[/quote'] I see u can get even more daft.

[Vijay.Sharma]

Yet on that same pitch our top six can only muster a pathetic 120 runs.So how do u blame the bowlers or captain when the batsmen put a ridiculous below par score on a absolute flat wicket. Did u watch Aus bowling today? They had deep cover and deep square leg for Sachin right from the first ball despite having a lead of 400.Because the wicket is flat and outfield is lightening quick.If we tried to attack the would have declared yesterday itself.

I don't think most of us are calling for his head based on just this game. It is the pattern of defensive captaincy that Dhoni is exhibiting consistently which is irking us

[rkt.india]

I don't think most of us are calling for his head based on just this game. It is the pattern of defensive captaincy that Dhoni is exhibiting consistently which is irking us

its not just defensive thinking, not thinking enough as a captain, no instant tactics, no on the spot strategy to surprise opposition, just waiting for them to make mistake. despite having 2 bowlers capable of bowling 145k, they did not try enough bouncers to clark and hussey both can be susceptible to good bouncers, had employ short leg and fielders for hook and pull and encourge bowlers to bowl short, aggressive when there was no swing.

[The Realist]

Watching Dhoni captain thesedays is like a replay of the bad days of England when Mike Artherton was in charge and it was all about damage limitation. For a team aspiring to be the best such negative tactics are not the way to reach the top. Might work occasionally but to rely on them as a default is just embarrassing.

[Ram]

That is a ridiculously harsh assessment of Dhoni’s captaincy by the OP. Cliches are boring, you still have to use them if there are no other alternatives, so here goes – A captain is only as good as the team. Anyone who says it was Dhoni’s captaincy that is the root cause of India’s troubles is completely missing the point. Assuming that the detractors will accept that Dhoni’s captaincy has not really changed at all, how come the same ‘defensive’ tactics took us to the top of the test world for 18 months and won us the world cup for the first time in 28 years? Besides, intelligent field placements, or lack thereof, are way overrated. If the main complaint against Dhoni is that he sometimes is too defensive, that I can guarantee there have previous India captains who were far worse than that. Azhar was a pathetic sell-out. Sachin couldn’t do 2+2 when the pressure was on. Ganguly was a great captain, but there was always the shadow of his inconsistent batting hanging over his head and Dravid was simply too mute. And talking of defensive field placements, what about Michael Clarke having just one slip and a deep point in the boundary in the last 1 hr of the day’s play, with his side 400 runs ahead? Can you imagine the phony, fabricated uproar if MSD had done that? Its all well and good having men all over the batsmen to make it look good on T.V, but whats the point in doing that when the batsmen are caning the ball all over the field? The aussies scored 600 runs for the loss of just 1 wicket, the 2nd highest stretch of runs in the game after Sanga-J’dene’s 624 partnership. That’s how good the pitch was. They say familiarity breeds contempt. It seems like 4 years of MSD has finally begun to wear some people off. But lets not forget where we were before and where he has taken us. Of course, the building blocks of our success were well in place by the time MSD took over, but his captaincy is the glue that holds this team together.

[Vijay.Sharma]

^ I am not making the argument that Dhoni's captaincy is the "root cause" for India's failures. Having watched cricket and played it I totally understand the meaning of - captain is just as good as his team. What I am trying to say is that Dhoni's captaincy is not a positive factor in Test cricket. Let's not confuse his ODI skippering abilities with his Test skippering abilities. In ODIs he is the best captain we have ever had...way ahead of even Dada. In Test cricket he is worse than Azza. And I have good enough reasons to back that up. A team as good as the ones that he had should not be winning against lowly NZ and WI by 1-0 margins. A team as good as his should not be losing 4-0 to England and looking like making an encore in Australia. Ganguly, Dravid, and Kumble also had essentially the same teams that Dhoni has had but they have done way better and have attacked way more than Dhoni's teams have. I am not even saying that the teams have changed their personality completely under Dhoni. My argument is that Dhoni as a Test Cap <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Dhoni as an ODI cap. And Dhoni as a Test cap < Azza as a Test cap. He doesn't seem to have Test captaining acumen and it is truly surprising because in ODIs he is brilliant, inspirational even. In Tests there is hardly any inspirational captaincy things he has done that can be spoken about except for his novelty period in late 2008. I don't think the team is to blame if their captain goes to them and tells them you guys are not fit enough to defend 599 against NZ on a wearing pitch.

[kirkutfan]

Make Zak the test capt....and demote Dhoni to Vc.....that way Zak can be our capt whenever he is'not' injured and Dhoni can take over once in a while.

Second that! Zak knows what works best for the bowlers. Besides, if MSD is jaded, it is not a bad idea to let someone with fresh ideas take a crack at the captaincy.

[veer]

Dhoni is handicap in Test.. - Operners are not firing - Seniors are not firing - Cant fire seniors for being seniors - Cant move SRT up or down the order cuz he has fixed place - Cant make RD or VVS sit out a game when they are out of form - Bowler's are too inconsistent There is no way can a captain be so successful in ODI and T20 formats (the agressive formats) and failure in Test for being defensive.. and personally, I think, he is termed as defensive for not showing too many emotioins on the field..