Dhoni Defends His Selection of Players..

[comm_box]

Dhoni has to be more careful when he makes statements regarding droping of seniors. He should mention about them with respect in his statements like " It was really tough on me to drop Dravid and Ganguly".

[Laaloo]

Dhoni has been a very average performer with the bat in test cricket' date=' BUT his wicket keeping has been exceptional in the recently concluded Aussie series. But , if his performance behind the wickets starts waning during the SA series , then , the question will beg , has he done enough to cement his place in the test side as a Vice- Captain. Parthiv Patel can and should be given another chance...[/quote'] wat abt dinesh karthik??

[Rohip]

Dhoni wants to be the first captain to win in Australia, so he won the ODI series but in the test series he wasnt captain so he couldnt afford to win

[Guest HariSampath]

to me Dhoni was trying to give it back to the media more than the seniors. He has been a good captain so far & hopefully he will learn to a avoid SANSANI statements soon. But while everybody is saying good stuff about RD , SG , SRT , VVS , AK etc ...I will tell u that all these guys lost a bit of respect when none of them reported match fixing that was happening behind the scenes. I think that blunder was far worse than any statement any future captain could ever make.

Completely agreed ! Everybody in the team knew that match fixing was on, and that too it was rampant between 1993 through 1999. It was impossible for such senior players , being integral part of the team for 7-8 years continuously, not to know this. Even if 3-4 players were the ones who participated actively, what about those who were always in the team ?

[Guest HariSampath]

On Dhoni, it must be remembered that he asked for the ODI team in Aus, and he had even stated specific reasons for that ( like aggressive batting, top fitness, running btwn wkts, flielding etc), apart from a need to build a team for 2011 wc. Lots of folks criticised his decisions , and many here too were actually hoping India get thrashed, but Indian won a fantastic victory. The truth is Dhoni is not putting down seniors or anything, he is just justifying his cricketing decision after having won the ODI series. For those who claim Dhoni was responsible for the seniors getting axed last month, please remember the facts : Rahul Dravid was not part of the ODI team at all when the team for CB series was announced, he had been dropped much earlier. Same was the case with VVS , KUmble had of course retired last year. So the ONLY player whom Dhoni would have specifically insisted on being dropped is Saurav Ganguly ( Sachin of course had been the best performing ODI batter last 2 series and he doesnt enter the picture at all). Now just analyse the dropping of Saurav Ganguly, ( I had beaten this to death elsewhere)...there has been NO cricket player who has played so selfishly for himself at team's expense as has Ganguly. This is a fact that almost all cricket fans ( excepting those who burn buses in Kolkatta, and others who support them) know well. ganguly , for his slow batting and once in 3-4 inngs 50, minus 20 runs in fielding each game and awful running between wkts had already sealed his own fate when playing in India ( 86 off 111 balls costing India the game, after which Dhoni and Yuvraj had spoken to selectors about tension in dressing room over Ganguly's batting). Ganguly was already a closed chapter that day and selectors were just waiting for the right time. In fact Dravid had become so frustrated with Ganguly's batting during wc2007 he too had spoken to selectors about this, ( remember KKD the 12th man being sent 10 times to Ganguly with msgs to speed up during the wc), so it is not as if Dhoni is the first or there is anything new here. And look what happens after Dhoni wins the CB series, there is NO congratulations publicly from Ganguly, Dravid or Kumble too, and whatever little there was, it was muted , restrained and minimum necessary for public consumption. Any young captain who had just achieved a huge task with a young side would feel miffed !! On top of that the first thing that ganguly does after the win is to run to the media and starts whining that he has been dropped unfairly , wants to play , doesnt know what else to do etc ( read this as "Dhoni has dropped me and I protest"). At least Dravid kept quiet. And then ganguly comes up with stuff like "hope Vengsarkar is watching this", and in an effort to (once again) hide behind Sachin, he says "I would perform like Sachin" etc. How pathetic, and the media had been supporting Ganguly all the time. Dhoni had always been wholesome in his praise for sachin as we all saw in the CB series , so his "seniors" remark is NOT inclusive of Sachin at all. If anything this is a very valid staatement directed at ganguly alone and all those media folks who wre up in arms against Dhoni for dropping Ganguly.

[Guest HariSampath]

About Rahul Dravid : How many people remember what he had said about the Indian team manager Chetan Desai after the tour of SAf. Rahul Dravid, the supposedly gentleman captain, lashed out at Chetan Desai saying "last time I checked, his name didn't figure prominently in Indian cricket". All that Chetan Desai had done was to submit a report to the BCCI as the team manager, afterall this was his job and to do this job as a team manager he doesnt need to play 100 tests or score 30 100s. Some of the best managers like Wng Cmdr Durani were not test players. The manager's report containing some team trouble, Sehwag and Chappell had been sniffed out by the media, and when Dravid was asked about it, he could have said "no comment"...but wait....take a look at "gentleman and humble Dravid's comments".. "

I've not read the report, but to be honest, there's no problem in the team. I think it's important to put it in perspective and understand things," Dravid snapped when asked about the story in the press conference ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka

. "

I'm being asked questions and being asked my views on a report given by someone who, when I last looked at the history of Indian cricket, I didn't necessarily see his name featuring very prominently," said Dravid of Desai, who is the honorary secretary of the Goa Cricket Association.

Having made the sharp comment, Dravid, who usually does not get into controversies of any kind, pressed on. "When I'm asked a question regarding comments or opinions of people, I would expect you to ask me questions about people who have at least played the game and have some standing in the game and been involved with the game in some capacity," he said. "Anyone's entitled to give an opinion, anyone's entitled to file reports but me commenting on that - I think you know I will comment on it only if its worthy of my comment."

That is some modesty from Rahul Dravid !!!! And remember he had been a far more senior cricketer, and an experienced captain when he made these comments. Would Dravid say the same thing about Sharad Pawar who has never played cricket ? Of course not. And all this for what ? Just the BCCI appointed team manager giving a report on the tour to the BCCI ( he is expected to do his job). Just because some official doesnt give the same slavish , arse licking pro senior statements, Dravid got terribly offended and went ballistic in the media without even confirming or denying anything, or even consulting the man who gave the report. Why not folks say Dravid should have confined himself to a simple "no comment"...and why should Dravid bring in the cricketing achievements of the administrative manager ?? Pride and arrogance , simple. And anger that his captaincy was shown in bad light. Compared to Dravi'd comments, I think Dhoni is far more accomplished in cricketing graces and being polite than Dravid, even at this early atge of captaincy when he has achieved LOTS more than Dravid as a captain in ODIs

[Vignesh]

Well He is the captain and is planning well to make india a force to reckon with atleast in the next worldcup... Leave him alone Let him do what he wants.......... P.S.This Is My 50th Post................................................................ Thanks to ICF

[Rajiv]

Kudos to Dhoni We need a leader like him to take us forward, Dravid and Gangs will never stay forever and whatever twist the media puts, he is spot on Good stuff by a small town boy

[Vignesh]

Dhoni is defining INDIAN CRICKET's Future and he is defining it well......... KUDOS DHONI

[graphic23]

About Rahul Dravid : How many people remember what he had said about the Indian team manager Chetan Desai after the tour of SAf. Rahul Dravid, the supposedly gentleman captain, lashed out at Chetan Desai saying "last time I checked, his name didn't figure prominently in Indian cricket". All that Chetan Desai had done was to submit a report to the BCCI as the team manager, afterall this was his job and to do this job as a team manager he doesnt need to play 100 tests or score 30 100s. Some of the best managers like Wng Cmdr Durani were not test players. The manager's report containing some team trouble, Sehwag and Chappell had been sniffed out by the media, and when Dravid was asked about it, he could have said "no comment"...but wait....take a look at "gentleman and humble Dravid's comments".. ". " That is some modesty from Rahul Dravid !!!! And remember he had been a far more senior cricketer, and an experienced captain when he made these comments. Would Dravid say the same thing about Sharad Pawar who has never played cricket ? Of course not. And all this for what ? Just the BCCI appointed team manager giving a report on the tour to the BCCI ( he is expected to do his job). Just because some official doesnt give the same slavish , arse licking pro senior statements, Dravid got terribly offended and went ballistic in the media without even confirming or denying anything, or even consulting the man who gave the report. Why not folks say Dravid should have confined himself to a simple "no comment"...and why should Dravid bring in the cricketing achievements of the administrative manager ?? Pride and arrogance , simple. And anger that his captaincy was shown in bad light. Compared to Dravi'd comments, I think Dhoni is far more accomplished in cricketing graces and being polite than Dravid, even at this early atge of captaincy when he has achieved LOTS more than Dravid as a captain in ODIs

I respectfully disagree. Especially regarding your conclusion that Dhoni is far more accomplished than Dravid. Not even Sachin is more accomplished than Dravid. In his two year stint as captain, he gave his job everything he had, and unfortunately, the coach we had and the internal struggles with Ganguly, etc. does not reflect Dravid's commitment to captaincy. Why does commitment come into play, because I think it is rather that his frustration rather than his arrogance and pride as you put it, led him to answer in the manner he did. In the SA tour, no one lived upto expectations. Chappell showed his middle finger to some Indian fans. There was the whole callback of Ganguly and his proving that he's good enough issue. Then, there was the issue of Dravid's own batting form. Despite giving the job his everything, there were plenty of questions being asked, rather unfairly. I don't think we understand what it is like to be the Indian captain, when the team has so many "stars", and not a very team-like atmosphere. What else could explain that India vs. West Indies in West Indies was actually Dravid vs. WI? Dravid's been our most consistent Test and ODI batsman since 2001 and 1999 respectively. I think he failed as a captain not because he was arrogant or prideful but because he thought that the team's failure was his failure. Why did he snap regarding the team struggles? Because he knew what was going to happen if he said that the dressing room atmosphere was not perfect. One case in example was when he was captain in the one off test against Pak, and he declared when Sachin was on 194*. What was the reaction he had to face? Coming back to his own form, I think he was disappointed that since that WI tour, his form has not been similar to the Wall we're used to seeing. He was making 30s and 40s but was never building on them as we were used to seeing. In England, it kind of fell apart because it has been a place where he was always done well, and he finally recognized that the captaincy had deprived him of his batting form, and his enjoyment of the game itself. (Note that these are my speculations that are based on some of the interviews given by Dravid). Coming to ODIs, everyone speaks as if he's awfully slow in ODIs relative to the others, but his S/R is rather close to that of Ganguly's, and he's had some awesome knocks where his S/R was always above 80-85, which is generally considered a very good S/R. I am definitely not criticizing Dhoni as my previous posts in this thread indicate but to say that Dhoni has accomplished more than Dravid is not true in any sense. The series he won and the T20 WC might indicate otherwise but Dravid's value in the Indian team is very much underestimated. Until Dhoni can maintain his current consistency (he is very consistent right now) for extended periods of time, and can deliver under all circumstances, he cannot be considered even as an equal to Dravid. As a captain, Dhoni has the privilege of dealing with only one Senior, while Dravid had to deal with quite a few as well as had to explain to media Chappell's strategies, comments, etc. Dhoni doesn't have to deal with this and moreover, he has got tremendous backing from the BCCI, which I don't think Dravid enjoyed. MSD is a more authoritative captain and good for him, his captaincy has been nothing short of brilliant. We all wish him the best, but to say that Dravid's not a gentleman or that Dhoni is more accomplished than Rahul is not wise.

[Guest HariSampath]

^...where is your justification for Dravid having made the comments ??? My point was he could have simply made a "no comment " comment...but went on to be scathing against the team manager who was just doing his job by giving a tour report. And I had just pointed out that Dhoni's comments were far better than Dravid's despite Dravid hving had 13 years of Int'l experience and also more experienced than Dhoni as a captain. But Dhoni as an ODI captain has certainly achieved FAR more than Dravid as an ODI captain. Why cant you simply accept Dravid's comments were very ugly, ungracious and also arrogant, as can be seen plainly

[graphic23]

^...where is your justification for Dravid having made the comments ??? My point was he could have simply made a "no comment " comment...but went on to be scathing against the team manager who was just doing his job by giving a tour report. And I had just pointed out that Dhoni's comments were far better than Dravid's despite Dravid hving had 13 years of Int'l experience and also more experienced than Dhoni as a captain. But Dhoni as an ODI captain has certainly achieved FAR more than Dravid as an ODI captain. Why cant you simply accept Dravid's comments were very ugly, ungracious and also arrogant, as can be seen plainly

Because to me , they quite simply were not ugly, ungracious, or arrogant. As I mentioned above ( and I am sorry if you did not see it above, it was a lot of text), I think it was more out of frustration rather than arrogance. His comments about experience being needed to make a comment, I think he was coming from the viewpoint that it would be a more valid report had the team manager been someone who had atleast played first class cricket so that he could given an accurate representation of Rahul's management of the team and his reactions with the team in the dressing room. Also, could you please provide the source of the article? Thank You.

[Guest HariSampath]

^..No way any cricket administrative manager is required to have played competitive cricket. And Dravid's comments are not simply frustrations, he has been downright scathing in questioning the credentials of the manager in making a report ( based on his lack of cricket experience) which is unnecessary anyway. Dravid's comments are clearly contemptuous and going by his remarks on "worthy of comment", who the hell does Dravid think he is ?? The admin manager was commenting on the rift between Dravid and Chappell in including an out of form Sehwag and an unfit Munaf for the 3rd test, Dravid was stubborn on both playing and India lost. As an admin manager he needs to record it officially that except Dravid no one wanted these two in the 11. Also the fact that Sehwag was missing practice sessions and Dravid was not supporting Chappell in insisting that Sehwag should not skip practice..anything wrong ? Clearly Dravid had mismanaged and the team admin manager had just jotted down facts in his report. source = Cricinfo and all news channels/sites. Just search for "Dravid Chetan Desai"

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

Ganguly and Dravid are not required in odis unless we plan to be a boring cricket team and not win many games. Choice is yours!. Msd the true son of soil tells it as it is. He didnt disrespect anyone but made it clear that Gangs stop whinging dude...you aint getting in. and he backs Yuvraj cuz he is a top odi bat and can win and turn games anytime and he has proved so over 2 years.

[Kartikey]

About Rahul Dravid : How many people remember what he had said about the Indian team manager Chetan Desai after the tour of SAf. Rahul Dravid, the supposedly gentleman captain, lashed out at Chetan Desai saying "last time I checked, his name didn't figure prominently in Indian cricket". All that Chetan Desai had done was to submit a report to the BCCI as the team manager, afterall this was his job and to do this job as a team manager he doesnt need to play 100 tests or score 30 100s. Some of the best managers like Wng Cmdr Durani were not test players. The manager's report containing some team trouble, Sehwag and Chappell had been sniffed out by the media, and when Dravid was asked about it, he could have said "no comment"...but wait....take a look at "gentleman and humble Dravid's comments".. ". " That is some modesty from Rahul Dravid !!!! And remember he had been a far more senior cricketer, and an experienced captain when he made these comments. Would Dravid say the same thing about Sharad Pawar who has never played cricket ? Of course not. And all this for what ? Just the BCCI appointed team manager giving a report on the tour to the BCCI ( he is expected to do his job). Just because some official doesnt give the same slavish , arse licking pro senior statements, Dravid got terribly offended and went ballistic in the media without even confirming or denying anything, or even consulting the man who gave the report. Why not folks say Dravid should have confined himself to a simple "no comment"...and why should Dravid bring in the cricketing achievements of the administrative manager ?? Pride and arrogance , simple. And anger that his captaincy was shown in bad light. Compared to Dravi'd comments, I think Dhoni is far more accomplished in cricketing graces and being polite than Dravid, even at this early atge of captaincy when he has achieved LOTS more than Dravid as a captain in ODIs

U know if Desai can criticise Dravid like he did, why cant Dravid do the same? Its not as if any of the seniors have criticised Dhoni that he has to keep on attacking them. Gangu even said that the team has been picked and should be supported. Yes he is going to the media to tell his sad tale but he also said they have to be backed.

[Lurker]

Dhoni has to be more careful when he makes statements regarding droping of seniors. He should mention about them with respect in his statements like " It was really tough on me to drop Dravid and Ganguly".

Reminds me of an Indian friend I knew. Anytime we would be sitting with Pakistani colleagues and this gentleman(Indian) had a criticism of Pakistan he would first start by applauding Pakistan and criticizing India. As an example, if he had to ask - Why does Pakistani bowling suck these days, he would actually phrase it as - Imran and Wasim were easily the best bowler of South Asia and I think Kapil dev was truly worse than them, still why do Pakistani bowling suck these days? No need to thank anyone, the players did their job, got paid and become national heroes, now they are past their sell-date and Dhoni knows it, admits it and says so. Full points to him. xxx

[youngindia]

Isn't it unprofessional for the VC of the team to talk such crap about two main players of the test team.Kumble should tell this back stabbing snake to keep this drama for the ODI series and not spoil it for his test team.

and when did he talk "crap about seniors" here???? why do you see things that don't exist? he is defending his vision of a younger side with some solid experience behind them by the time of 2011. and he is hitting back at his critics. which most likely means that he may be hitting back at you(and those who attacked his ideas) rather than the seniors. It shows how much he cherishes and values the vision. I am one who usually applauds calculated risks. even i thought australia tour was too complex a tour for young minds to come away untarnished and that it was very risky. And they won against tremendous odds with invaluable help from tendulkar in the finals. My only complaint could be the mini collapse inthe final 12 overs in the 2 nd final that gave australia a window. apart from that, truly excellent win.

[Dhondy]

When the rest of the team failed, he made 76 in Lords and saved the game for us, where the ball was swinging quite a bit. He fought hard to stay in both the innings of Sydney, and in Perth. I do agree that Yuvraj wasn't even willing to fight, which is why he got dropped from the Test team. Look above to the responses as to why Dhoni is backing Yuvraj. Yeah, he wasn't as successful as the other middle order batsmen, but thats why they are legends, and why we can't afford to drop them. He has never made a comment regarding the Test team. He's the captain of the ODI team, and he's speaking like a successful captain. We are not used to captains who are so authoritative and confident about the team, so let us give him some time, and if the team (god forbid) should fail, he will learn to handle failures as well. Regarding the backing from the BCCI, for the first time, they are backing the captain's instincts, and isn't it paying off so far? I am not quite sure how Kumble's 600 wickets fits into this issue. (BTW, they are felicitating him in Chennai the day before the 1st test match - but I agree, he deserves more). What makes you think the BCCI would've reprimanded the seniors. The thing is that the seniors wouldn't have spoken to the media because they didn't want to take the steps that Dhoni's taken. Plus, they are quiet and dignified men (barring Ganguly, who's dignified but not quiet) - they don't seek media attention, because media's been hounding them for the past 10-12 years. He's young, he wants the people to acknowledge that you have to take difficult decisions if you want to continue succeeding. He mentioned several times that when the team succeeds, people are behind us, but when it fails, they will attack you, and make harsh comments. He urged the people to take everything equally. Its a sport, and not a religion. He recognizes this fact that success cannot keep coming, and one day you have to fail. So it is unfair on our part to make comments that he's drenched in success, etc. Again, it is well known that he succeeded because of the backing from the seniors, he has mentioned that several times. He received tips from Sachin on how to handle the bounce in Australia, so did Yuvraj. Ganguly helped them out, and Dravid, arguably the most technically correct batsman in the world, would've no doubt helped him in England, and in Australia. He received backing from Dravid when his wicketkeeping in England was ordinary, to say the least. He's in the test team because he can fight for his runs and his wicketkeeping has improved by miles in the recent months. Diplomacy is different from arrogance. Arrogance would've been, "Dravid aur Ganguly nahi chayiye is team ko." He has never said that. Dravid, Ganguly, Sachin, and Laxman have brought a lot of respect for the Indian Cricket Team, and he's just standing on the shoulders of these giants. I don't think he fails to recognize this. He's not being very diplomatic because he is inexperienced. He doesn't realize the consequences of his words just yet, and as long as he's winning, he won't.

Well thought out post, nice and coherent. Sriram, you have your match.

[Kartikey]

Former Skippers Slate Dhoni http://www.cricket365.com/story/0,18305,6575_3330711,00.html Former India captains Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Bishan Singh Bedi have criticised current one-day skipper Mahenda Singh Dhoni for his comments on team selection. Dhoni admitted in an interview he had told selectors his picks for the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia with the intention of "sending a message" to certain players. The selectors heeded his recommendations by selecting a young squad and omitting senior players such as Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. The decision was vindicated after India won the CB Series, but Dhoni's comments have not been well received in some quarters. Pataudi, who captained India in 46 Tests, told newspaper Mid-Day: "He is giving leeway to people who are a bit young. It is not necessary to say such things, especially in public. "He should understand that other responsibilities come with the captaincy. He has to choose his words carefully." Bedi, a former left-arm spinner, concurred with Pataudi, saying: "It is immature to make such a statement. Any statement that disturbs the dressing room atmosphere should be avoided. "Anything that leads to suspicious frowns in the dressing room is avoidable. I don't know what he is trying to prove by saying this. "That is why the board's role is very important in such situations. Board officials must ensure nobody makes such irresponsible comments. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt because of his immaturity." India have recalled Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman for the upcoming Test series against South Africa starting on March 26 in Chennai.

[cochise]

Ya...it's okay...let the old fellas give him some advice on how to handle matters...it's healthy...he will learn and get better at it.