Jump to content

I guess that settles how good Dhoni is


Recommended Posts

Dhoni phenomenon: genius, luck, or magic? Mahendra Singh Dhoni, wicket-keeper, batsman, captain, philosopher. And, perhaps, magician. More... Dhoni phenomenon: genius, luck, or magic? Kunal Pradhan Posted: Mar 28, 2009 at 1038 hrs IST Mahendra Singh Dhoni, wicket-keeper, batsman, captain, philosopher. And, perhaps, magician. It was considered an odd coincidence, a funny story about how the stars aligned to shower him with good fortune, that things fell into place whenever Dhoni donned the captain?s hat, and went horribly wrong when he was either missing or demoted. Fans laughed, and experts indulgently shook their heads at his good luck. But it has gone on for so long now that even hardened disbelievers are scratching their heads and wondering if he is only a cricketer or some dark sorcerer in disguise. After a great run in New Zealand, India had their first two poor days in Napier when Dhoni was forced to sit out of the match due to back spasms, and at a time when John Buchanan is advocating more power to coaches, the inexplicable influence of Dhoni?s captaincy must be reinvigorating for skippers around the world. In the six Tests that he has captained India, they?ve won five, including three times when he was standing in for the now-retired Anil Kumble. He?s led the team to victory in 31 of 51 ODI matches, and while his T20 record of six out of 12 is the least impressive of the lot, it includes the World Cup triumph in South Africa. Slowly, evidence is emerging to suggest that somehow the life gets sucked out of the team when Dhoni is not on the field. It?s not about field placements and bowling changes, there?s something more, something intangible, that seems to walk off with him. And the really strange part is that there aren?t really any obvious signs of his genius when he is marshalling his resources in the middle. There are no famous trump-card decisions to be quoted ? nothing like Don Bradman inverting the line-up on a wet pitch, Martin Crowe opening the bowling with a spinner, Clive Lloyd allowing Geoff Boycott to bat on, or Sourav Ganguly making Steve Waugh wait for the toss. Dhoni was perhaps at his most intuitive against Australia in Nagpur, where he set an 8-1 off-side field that not only choked the batsmen for runs but also frustrated them into throwing away their wickets. The ploy, no matter how successful, was negative, ultra-defensive, almost ?not cricket?, but still not alarming enough to be remembered forever. Off the field, the anecdote that will pass the test of time was when he suddenly gave a metaphysical discourse on Descartian Dualism to a bunch of overworked reporters before this Napier Test. In response to a question about why the team had stayed in Auckland for an extra day, Dhoni said, ?When it comes to the mind, it depends on what you?re feeding into it. The mind doesn?t know if it?s Napier. You come and say this is Napier, it believes it is Napier; you say it is day, it believes it is day.? This emergence of the philosopher within him was particularly confusing. The early theory, propounded by all-knowing cricket writers such as myself, was that Dhoni didn?t care about the tensions of his high-pressure job. Life was light for him, and so was the burden of captaincy. But those comments in Napier, combined with a recent admission in Sri Lanka that he sometimes turned dictatorial when the team were on the back foot, belied the analysis. So what is it that makes Dhoni, the captain, so successful that the same players look ordinary when another man is at the helm? Is it his authoritarianism; his power of positive thinking; his immense self-belief that rubs off on those around him; or could this incredible run ? which has now gone on for more than 18 months ? really be no more than a stroke of good luck? As Geoffrey Rush?s character, Philip Henslowe, kept repeating in Shakespeare in Love: I don?t know. It?s a mystery. kunal.pradhan@expressindia.com

Link to comment
That's like having people worship Paul Collingwood, or Ronald McDonald... Unimaginable.
Paul Collingwood for God's post - now that I've seen the light and found out that Sachin is selfish and useless. Ok, even for sarcasm, that was too much. :(( It was very painful writing that. I feel like crying. *Puts on Sharjah 1998*.. Aaah. Much better. Things one must do to combat fineleg.
Link to comment
Ok' date=' even for sarcasm, that was too much. :(( It was very painful writing that. I feel like crying. *Puts on Sharjah 1998*.. Aaah. Much better. Things one must do to combat fineleg.[/quote'] Sultans, circa San Antonio '85 works pretty damn well too. Guitar god + killer sax = immunity from over-emotional knee jerk reaction attention-seeking BS.
Link to comment

i couldnt believe when I saw veeru throwing his wickets again.. he can never be a good captain... what a shame.. its one thing to go on attack in 1st inning when batting first.. but when you are chasing 600.. you gotta curb your instict a little.. very irrisponsible as a captain.. and as a senior player.. on the other hand, you gotta aplaude gambhir for restricting himself in second go..

Link to comment
Sultans' date=' circa San Antonio '85 works pretty damn well too. Guitar god + killer sax = immunity from over-emotional knee jerk reaction attention-seeking BS.[/quote'] Sultans of Swing! The guys I played cricket with today were huge fans of Dire Straits. :D :D :D
Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...