Dhoni denies to be drawn Into Test Captaincy Debate

[SachDan]

VADODARA: Even if some critics are furiously debating whether Anil Kumble should hand over the reins of the Test captaincy to his deputy, ODI skipper MS Dhoni himself is pretty cool about the whole controversy and wondering what the fuss is all about. "If you ask me, I’m too happy and privileged to be playing under someone as great and as modest as Kumble," Dhoni told TOI on Sunday. "He’s a thorough gentleman. A legend. And a bowler of great skill and tremendous fighting qualities. He commands the respect of his team. "Kumble is someone who is fiercely determined, one who never gives up. Even if the opponents need 10 runs to get on the final day, we know Kumble will come back and fight till the last run. These qualities are rare," explained Dhoni. Cutting out the Test captaincy debate, he says, "I’ve never given too much thought to these things. There’s no point. I’m just too happy to be playing the game, playing for the country and enjoying every moment. "The way I look at it is, I never thought I would play for India but I did. I never dreamt of leading the country but I did. So I don’t let such things creep into my mind, more so because it’s none of my business. The important thing is to understand that we have a tough series coming up against the best side in the world, so we need to focus our energies on that. Period." Like all of us, Dhoni too is hoping that Sachin Tendulkar recovers from his elbow injury ahead of the first Test against Australia. "Sachin continues to be a key player in the middle order and he showed us why his presence is so very important in the last series in Australia," opined the charismatic Dhoni. "Once he returns, it will only be a matter of time before he gets those 70-75 runs to become the highest run-getter in Test history. That is something the whole country is looking forward to. I’m sure it will be a great moment for him just as it will be for the entire team and the country."

[Lord]

i think veeru shud be made test captain wen kumble retires, captaincy in test cricket will prove too much burden 4 dhoni along wid his keeping also dhoni's test record is average to say the least & his cowardly act of pulling out of test series vs sl shows that he doesn't rate tests as highly as he shud.

[beetle]

agree...

[diegovegaz]

it is a very positive move the man of the moment clearing the air, and praising legendary anil kumble kudos dhoni

[DomainK]

If I was Dhoni, I would be blinded by the rapid sequence of successes and benchmarks. Too much too fast could be tough to handle even for the best of men. I have read Boycott's reasoning for why Dhoni should not be made test captain and I think he has some very good points. But I still believe that Dhoni is the strongest candidate for captaincy right now the only other contender being Sehwag.

[Fontaine]

If I was Dhoni' date=' I would be blinded by the rapid sequence of successes and benchmarks. Too much too fast could be tough to handle even for the best of men. I have read Boycott's reasoning for why Dhoni should not be made test captain and I think he has some very good points. But I still believe that Dhoni is the strongest candidate for captaincy right now the only other contender being Sehwag.[/quote'] Strongest doesn't always mean the best. I understand the point you're making but for me Dhoni is the perfect guy for the limited over captaincy and that's what he should stick to. As a test captain I can't see how he's going to improve the test side when his own test form is questionable and by far and away the most success the Indian side has had is with the younger generation of players in limited overs cricket recently. Sehwag has been exposed as the Vice Captain for years and I think he has the maturity to handle it. One captain for all three formats places far too much burden and especially in India it is a back breaker. Sehwag for Test captain and Dhoni for the rest.

[Lord]

Strongest doesn't always mean the best. I understand the point you're making but for me Dhoni is the perfect guy for the limited over captaincy and that's what he should stick to. As a test captain I can't see how he's going to improve the test side when his own test form is questionable and by far and away the most success the Indian side has had is with the younger generation of players in limited overs cricket recently. Sehwag has been exposed as the Vice Captain for years and I think he has the maturity to handle it. One captain for all three formats places far too much burden and especially in India it is a back breaker. Sehwag for Test captain and Dhoni for the rest.

i guess its never goin to happen...gary kirsten has already declared that dhoni is 'ready 4 test capt.i'm afraid sehwag will be like warne i.e. the best captain india never had

[beetle]

i guess its never goin to happen...gary kirsten has already declared that dhoni is 'ready 4 test capt.i'm afraid sehwag will be like warne i.e. the best captain india never had

Since when does Kirsten decide on who becomes captain or on selection matters. Remember...he got a displeasure note from BCCI for his unnecessary and stupid remarks. As for Dhoni's remarks...I think it was nice of him to say that and also the right thing to say.This will stop all the out of work cricketers to give their view on this topic.

[Lord]

Since when does Kirsten decide on who becomes captain or on selection matters. Remember...he got a displeasure note from BCCI for his unnecessary and stupid remarks. As for Dhoni's remarks...I think it was nice of him to say that and also the right thing to say.This will stop all the out of work cricketers to give their view on this topic.

kirsten must have said that on behalf of team management n selectors. i think its already decided by all concerned.dhoni is da permanent VC for tests, so most prolly he'll replace kumble as capt when jumbo retires

[Dark Warrior]

dhoni is indeed a smart smart person......... very clever!

[jf1gp_1]

I dont understand why we should even look at sehwag to lead indian test side. Success in ODI and T20 has shown has it in him to lead Indian side; he is our No 1 keeper so its not as if his place is under any kind of threat. An average of 35 isnt terrible for a keeper and with time it will only go up. So when he will be in playing XI given how successful he has been with captaincy why shouldnt he lead the test side. If batting averages made a person good captain; you-know-who would have also been the greatest captain ever to have played this game

[Desi Cartman]

He lead the side well in the 3rd test against SAF to tie the series 1-1. There was a lot of pressure and once again he proved that he can handle it well. H IMO he should give up keeping as soon as we find a decent keeper. If he continues to keep in all 3 formats and lead the side , then im afraid he will burn out very soon.

[Lord]

I dont understand why we should even look at sehwag to lead indian test side. Success in ODI and T20 has shown has it in him to lead Indian side; he is our No 1 keeper so its not as if his place is under any kind of threat. An average of 35 isnt terrible for a keeper and with time it will only go up. So when he will be in playing XI given how successful he has been with captaincy why shouldnt he lead the test side. If batting averages made a person good captain; you-know-who would have also been the greatest captain ever to have played this game

success in ODIs? india's won 3 series n lost 3 under him. that isnt a outstanding record.even in t20 it was more a case of pak losing than dhoni winning it 4 india.remember how we got all out for 73 at melbourne under his capt. ther's a lot of luck involved in t20. sehwag's gr8ness goes beyond his record.he is a team man to the core.remember he refused a single on 199. he's also a street smart customer.we all know how he plotted ponting's dismissal at perth. he'll obviously make better capt. than dhoni.

[Lord]

He lead the side well in the 3rd test against SAF to tie the series 1-1. There was a lot of pressure and once again he proved that he can handle it well. H IMO he should give up keeping as soon as we find a decent keeper. If he continues to keep in all 3 formats and lead the side , then im afraid he will burn out very soon.

even ishant sharma wud have captained india to win on dat pitch. even icc acknowlegded it was dangerous.

[jf1gp_1]

success in ODIs? india's won 3 series n lost 3 under him. that isnt a outstanding record.even in t20 it was more a case of pak losing than dhoni winning it 4 india.remember how we got all out for 73 at melbourne under his capt. ther's a lot of luck involved in t20. sehwag's gr8ness goes beyond his record.he is a team man to the core.remember he refused a single on 199. he's also a street smart customer.we all know how he plotted ponting's dismissal at perth. he'll obviously make better capt. than dhoni.

its amusing how you are willing to bash Indian sides success just to prove your point. so one man misbah t20 pak team lost the game and an allrounder performing Indian team was lucky to beat aus, sa and pak might i add TWICE to win the cup Dhoni has won a tri series in Aus beating aus, dont remember that happening before. Lead a depleted Indian side to ODI win in SL cant remember that happening before either. As much as i am a sehwag fan plotting one dismissal is nothing next to what Dhoni has already achieved. trying to get a double hundred with a six and losing wicket isnt brave its stupid, you want a rash man leading Indian side ? We dont need a team player, they make lousy captains we need a leader which Dhoni is, he is our No 1 keeper, our No 1 ODI batsman and WINS given any kind of team.

[Dark Warrior]

success in ODIs? india's won 3 series n lost 3 under him. that isnt a outstanding record.even in t20 it was more a case of pak losing than dhoni winning it 4 india.remember how we got all out for 73 at melbourne under his capt. ther's a lot of luck involved in t20. even ishant sharma wud have captained india to win on dat pitch. even icc acknowlegded it was dangerous. .

:finger:

[Lord]

its amusing how you are willing to bash Indian sides success just to prove your point. so one man misbah t20 pak team lost the game and an allrounder performing Indian team was lucky to beat aus, sa and pak might i add TWICE to win the cup Dhoni has won a tri series in Aus beating aus, dont remember that happening before. Lead a depleted Indian side to ODI win in SL cant remember that happening before either. As much as i am a sehwag fan plotting one dismissal is nothing next to what Dhoni has already achieved. trying to get a double hundred with a six and losing wicket isnt brave its stupid, you want a rash man leading Indian side ? We dont need a team player, they make lousy captains we need a leader which Dhoni is, he is our No 1 keeper, our No 1 ODI batsman and WINS given any kind of team.

i'm not bashing indian team's success, but u have to consider losses too.the fact is even after one yr of capt. bu dhoni , india is at no.5 in ICC ODI rankings. i didnt say that india didnt deserve to win t20 wc, i said u cant look into t20 success n make dhoni test capt,even malik led pak to finals after beatin nzl ,aus n slnow we know wat the world thinks of his captaincy n bcoz in t20,one over can win u a game, whereas in tests, u have to play well through 5 days. sehwag's plottin of one dismissal may not be big thing, it certainly shows what brains he has n wat he can do if given power to lead the side.i dont remember dhoni makin a shrewd move to get a wicket, he just goes thru the motions btw, if u remember,in the galle test,sehwag wasnt trying to get 200 wid a six, he was trying to protect ishant.he did get his 200 wid a SINGLE off last ball of that over. surely u wont need a team player to be capt, u need a man like dhoni who bats at 5 n 6 against gud teams but promotes himself to no.4 against hong kong to make easy runs 4 himself,they wud make gr8 capt, wont they?

[Dark Warrior]

^^^ agree with u bro. im a big fan of sehwag too. there's no question abt his dedication to team he is a team man. but i think, dhoni is better captain than sehwag. hats off to sehwag for tht last ball double century while he was tryin to save ishant sharma.

[Fontaine]

You all make valid points. But I'm not talking about who's the better captain and to a certain extent it doesn't really matter. Honestly, in terms of cricket will it make that much of a difference if Sehwag was the test captain over Dhoni? I don't think so. There are differences no doubt but the most important problem is that one of pressure. As the limited overs captain Dhoni is doing a great job but there is still an incredible amount of media/public pressure on him and the captaincy in the Indian setup. I think it's not only unreasonable, but simply unfeasible for one guy to handle the test captaincy as well. Simply put, the setup of the Indian media and fanatic fans make it near impossible for the captain to do well in the long term. I would think seperating the captaincy from Test and limited overs cricket not only makes it a far less burden but tactically allows Dhoni and Sehwag to do what they are best at: Dhoni to be an explosive batsmen and limited overs inspirational leader and Sehwag to continue going about being a fantastic test opener and claim the captaincy role that he's been groomed for as vice captain for years given his experience.

[Ram]

"If you ask me, I’m too happy and privileged to be playing under someone as great and as modest as Kumble," Dhoni told TOI on Sunday.

All this is just PC talk, hoping to silence those sections of the media, which doesnt miss a single chance to hype-up the Dhoni's campaign for captaincy. I am sure the atmosphere within the dressing room is very professional and mature. Dhoni may be the ODI captain, but when it comes to the test team, everyone understands that Kumble is the leader. It helps that our team is filled with gentleman like Sachin and Dravid. The only odd-one-out was Ganguly, who routines uses the media to make blatant anti-Dhoni statements. Now, even he seems to be out. I really cannot believe how low the media can stoop, just to create stories out of nothing.