Jayawardene succeeds where Dhoni fails - Ian Chappell

[CG]

The value of good captaincy may be debatable but there can be no disputing that strong leadership improves a cricket team's performance. Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene is a good example. His vibrant leadership during the CB Series inspired and took his team to the brink of a tournament victory. From the moment Jayawardene elevated himself to the top of the Sri Lankan order, his team became a threat. He also led the way with some brilliant fielding, but just as important as his individual contributions, it was his faith in his players and the respect he has earned that have elevated the level of Sri Lanka's play. Good captaincy can be seen in the moves a skipper makes on the field but strong leadership is harder to quantify. It mostly involves work done behind closed doors but the rewards are reaped on the field. Jayawardene showed enormous faith in Lasith Malinga following a horror night in Hobart. And his lead bowler continued to contribute despite a niggling injury. The rapport between the two was obvious when Jayawardene hugged Malinga after his outstanding finishing effort in the must-win match against Australia at the MCG. In the end Sri Lanka fell just short of winning the trophy, but without Jayawardene's strong leadership and shrewd captaincy, it's doubtful they would have even reached the finals. Compare Sri Lanka's playing-above-themselves competitiveness with India's under-performance throughout the Australian tour. There's no doubt India had a more talented line-up than Sri Lanka, but other than Virat Kohli's electrifying night at Bellerive, the Indian team was unable to live up to its reputation. MS Dhoni is a good captain, better in the short forms of the game than Test cricket but a solid skipper nonetheless. However, he has been unable to inspire his team on two lacklustre tours and consequently eight overseas Tests have been lost on the trot. There may have been extenuating circumstances in England, where injuries took their toll, but the Australian tour was an unmitigated disaster. The obvious difference between Sri Lanka and India was that one played as a team and the other as individual performers. As has often been observed, a champion team will beat a team of champions. There's no doubt Dhoni has earned the respect of his team-mates as player and captain. The fact that he's more animated in the shorter version of the game suggests he's more motivated with a younger, more energetic fielding side to lead. It could also stem from the fact that the shorter versions often dictate how the game has to be played, whereas in Tests the captain has to continually evaluate his strategy. Whatever the reason, Dhoni was unable to inspire his team in England or Australia series. There's also the suspicion that honest appraisal is an accepted part of life in the Sri Lankan team, while the senior Indian players are untouchable and some of the younger brigade have succumbed to sloppy habits. There could be another underlying cause: the Sri Lankans are still owed some back pay, while in many cases the Indian players have become extraordinarily rich overnight via hefty IPL contracts. There has long been a theory that hungry sportsmen are the most competitive. Whatever the reasons for the differences between the two sides, there's no doubt Sri Lanka have an egalitarian team culture, while India's is more conducive to developing bad habits. India's problem is that their culture means it will do little good changing captains or blaming all the failings on Dhoni. It's obvious the Indian problem is systemic when a high-ranking official waves away criticism of the team's dismal performance on tour by saying all will be forgotten when India experience victory at home. Generally, cricket teams need strong guidance on and off the field. What makes Jayawardene's outstanding leadership even more meritorious is that he has achieved a lot despite constant upheaval amongst Sri Lanka's administrative ranks. Espn Cricinfo.

[ravishingravi]

I have always believed Jayawardene is a great captain.

[MCcricket]

Last few tours especially abroad Dhoni looks very poor as capt also is loosing his mojo in odi's, to add to that bad attitude and passing derogatory comments on his teammates, biased in team selection for playing 11 and probably one of the causes of our awful show in Eng and Aus.

[saneindian]

Ghantaaa. Dhoni won a ODI WC, Lady Jaya lost the finals Dhoni won the world t20, Lady Jaya lost in the finals. Dhoni won a CB series in Aus, Lady Jaya lost in the finals. Maybe Chappel meant to write Dhoni succeeds where Lady Jaya fails.

[cameron_black]

Ghantaaa. Dhoni won a ODI WC, Lady Jaya lost the finals Dhoni won the world t20, Lady Jaya lost in the finals. Dhoni won a CB series in Aus, Lady Jaya lost in the finals. Maybe Chappel meant to write Dhoni succeeds where Lady Jaya fails.

lol the typical indian mindset which will only help your cricket rot in the same place. did you even read the article and tried to understand what chappel is trying to say?

[saneindian]

lol the typical indian mindset which will only help your cricket rot in the same place. did you even read the article and tried to understand what chappel is trying to say?

All I know is that a certain team hasn't won any test or ODI series, home or away, for the last 12 months. Go cry somewhere else and before that try win some series even if its against BD. BTW each of those three points are facts. No wonder that lit a spark somewhere.

[Clarke]

blah blah blah blah How about our batting sucked and bowling was average ? Why blame Dhoni's captaincy when Sachin/Sehwag/Raina/Rohit couldn't score anything ?

[CSK Fan]

lol the typical indian mindset which will only help your cricket rot in the same place. did you even read the article and tried to understand what chappel is trying to say?

Yes, I understood exactly what chappel is trying to say. In the last one year, Indian culture has suddenly changed, its problematic and there is rot at the highest level. And Sri-Lanka has the most amazing team and cricket culture based on the last 3 months. Completely agree with Chappel Also agree with him that in tests Dhoni is a complete miss just because of the last two series. A complete amnesia about his performances in NZ and SA are most necessary, also the fact about our rise to no 1 should be forgotten completely. A world cup victory, overseas series wins, overseas ODIs wins, wins in Asia cup, wins in last CB series, all are immaterial compared to Sri-Lankans exploits which made them reach the finals of the CB series

[cameron_black]

All I know is that a certain team hasn't won any test or ODI series, home or away, for the last 12 months. Go cry somewhere else and before that try win some series even if its against BD. BTW each of those three points are facts. No wonder that lit a spark somewhere.

i accept that SL has been a below par team in the post WC era, no denying that. there were a number of reasons contributing to that fact, but now we see a clear change happening. and mahela's captaincy has a large say in that. and for your facts, the problem is you're ignoring the elephant in the room. mahela never captained SL in a t20 WC final btw...

[CG]

Yes, I understood exactly what chappel is trying to say. In the last one year, Indian culture has suddenly changed, its problematic and there is rot at the highest level. And Sri-Lanka has the most amazing team and cricket culture based on the last 3 months. Completely agree with Chappel Also agree with him that in tests Dhoni is a complete miss just because of the last two series. A complete amnesia about his performances in NZ and SA are most necessary, also the fact about our rise to no 1 should be forgotten completely. A world cup victory, overseas series wins, overseas ODIs wins, wins in Asia cup, wins in last CB series, all are immaterial compared to Sri-Lankans exploits which made them reach the finals of the CB series

It will be forgotten and should be if you get whitewashed 4-0 and 4-0.

[Old guy]

sri lankan team performed.. batting clicked he lookedl ike a gr8 captain but when his mian bowler struggled he was just looking and sangakara with disbelief :winky: now imagine dhoni his mian bowler is injured.. 2ns best bowler is unlucky :D and spinner one cant land ball properly other was dart thrower :dontknow: and now batsmen cant play straight balls i cant really blame him

[CG]

sri lankan team performed.. batting clicked he lookedl ike a gr8 captain but when his mian bowler struggled he was just looking and sangakara with disbelief :winky: now imagine dhoni his mian bowler is injured.. 2ns best bowler is unlucky :D and spinner one cant land ball properly other was dart thrower :dontknow: and now batsmen cant play straight balls i cant really blame him

and dhoni can't captain.Captain takes all the credit for victory so he should be blamed for defeats.Srilanka looked a changed side under mahela compared to dilshan ,he even opened even though he had failed in these conditions .If captaincy is not always about results .But dhoni did not perform in any parameter of leadership.

[Sidhoni]

Ghantaaa. Dhoni won a ODI WC, Lady Jaya lost the finals Dhoni won the world t20, Lady Jaya lost in the finals. Dhoni won a CB series in Aus, Lady Jaya lost in the finals. Maybe Chappel meant to write Dhoni succeeds where Lady Jaya fails.

:two_thumbs_up:

[CSK Fan]

It will be forgotten and should be if you get whitewashed 4-0 and 4-0.

i accept that SL has been a below par team in the post WC era, no denying that. there were a number of reasons contributing to that fact, but now we see a clear change happening. and mahela's captaincy has a large say in that. and for your facts, the problem is you're ignoring the elephant in the room. mahela never captained SL in a t20 WC final btw...

Err, the elephant in the room is that we are carrying out of form players and not trying new ones. Its nothing to do with our culture, etc as Chappel seems to be saying. Culture doesnt change in 3 months, not for India, not for Sri Lanka

[rkt.india]

and dhoni can't captain.Captain takes all the credit for victory so he should be blamed for defeats.Srilanka looked a changed side under mahela compared to dilshan ' date='he even opened even though he had failed in these conditions .If captaincy is not always about results .But dhoni did not perform in any parameter of leadership.[/quote'] Yaar I dont understand who SL looked changed team. They chased down 2 300 totals against SA in ODIs under Dilsahn and here we lost only one match against SL and people are showing like thay have beaten us 4 out of 4 matches. It was more psychological than anything else, We lost against Aussies and they had already beaten us in test series so they had that mental over us already and we played under that pressure most of the time against them and then our top order batting was failing match after match. You cannot win matches when your top 3 cannot last first 10 overs. Yesterday, I was watching Aajtak Sports program and Sameep Rajguru their presenter was talking so irritating. He was talking consistently how Srilanka thrashed us in CB series. I felt like give him a tight slap and tell that it was us who won more matches against SL not SL won against. SL merely won 1 match out of 4 and he was talking like they rolled over us in every match. It was irritating to listen him.

[achilles]

Ian chooses the wrong time to say the right thing. The way I look at it, India is going to win the Asia Cup and the coming tourney's and Ian is going to look lame.

[CG]

Yaar I dont understand who SL looked changed team. They chased down 2 300 totals against SA in ODIs under Dilsahn and here we lost only one match against SL and people are showing like thay have beaten us 4 out of 4 matches. It was more psychological than anything else, We lost against Aussies and they had already beaten us in test series so they had that mental over us already and we played under that pressure most of the time against them and then our top order batting was failing match after match. You cannot win matches when your top 3 cannot last first 10 overs. Yesterday, I was watching Aajtak Sports program and Sameep Rajguru their presenter was talking so irritating. He was talking consistently how Srilanka thrashed us in CB series. I felt like give him a tight slap and tell that it was us who won more matches against SL not SL won against. SL merely won 1 match out of 4 and he was talking like they rolled over us in every match. It was irritating to listen him.

Under mahela team seems to be more proactive than dilshan ,Mahela commands respect in the team and his decison to open was good considering he has failed in these conditions for so many years but he took the risk.

[rkt.india]

Under mahela team seems to be more proactive than dilshan ' date='Mahela commands respect in the team and his decison to open was good considering he has failed in these conditions for so many years but he took the risk.[/quote'] but still they could not win the series. It shows they depended too much on top 3. Two out of our top 3 could not score a 50 in the series, still we were in the race of final till last match.

[Raghav_12]

blah blah blah blah How about our batting sucked and bowling was average ? Why blame Dhoni's captaincy when Sachin/Sehwag/Raina/Rohit couldn't score anything ?

so why Dhoni was given credit when Sachin/Sehwag/Raina/were hitting tons or runs and Zaheer was running amok in opposition batting orders? Why Dhoni is given credit for WC win when he just turned up in one match, that too when we were already in relatively comfortable position?

[Number]

so why Dhoni was given credit when Sachin/Sehwag/Raina/were hitting tons or runs and Zaheer was running amok in opposition batting orders? Why Dhoni is given credit for WC win when he just turned up in one match' date=' that too when we were already in relatively comfortable position?[/quote'] We were not in a comfortable position when he came in. As good as Yuvi was looking in the whole tournament , he has very poor record chasing under lights in SC against spinners. So , It was a good decision by him. Though he should be criticized for his captaincy in CB series. It was indeed bad.