MS Dhoni: Hero to zero in 20 months

[CG]

KOLKATA: Less than 20 months ago he had the world at his feet. A splendid knock in the final was the icing on the cake for Mahendra Singh Dhoni who became only the second Indian captain to lift the World Cup, ending a 28-year wait. With Team India also holding on to its numero uno status in Test cricket and the Chennai Super Kings repeating their IPL triumph under Dhoni, the Indian skipper's stock was at an all-time high. Ironically, this also marked the beginning of the slide for Dhoni, who has since lost credibility as a leader. Once hailed as the face of change in Indian cricket, Dhoni himself has changed beyond recognition. With his team in a state of terminal decline, the trademark boyish smile on his face has been replaced by a scowl. However, never before has the Indian board backed a captain who has presided over so many losses. The selectors' faith in him is dwindling with every Test loss, and he is also fast losing respect of his players. Cricket is a team game and the truth is that Dhoni today presides over a fragmented outfit. His equation with senior players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly was at best uneasy. Today, despite the last three retiring, the tension in the dressing room has hardly eased. While there is no immediate threat to Dhoni's position as skipper in ODIs, there are three contenders for the Test captaincy -- Sehwag, Gambhir and Virat Kohli. If Dhoni has not lost the captaincy as well as his Test spot despite a string of losses and his own poor form, it is partly because national selectors are in awe of his reputation and partly because the contenders for the top job have fared even worse than him. The differences between Dhoni and Sehwag date back to the 2007 when the swashbuckling opener was dropped by the skipper in the World T20 final. The fact that Sehwag had also been subsequently left out of several key matches in the shorter versions of the game clearly indicates the power struggle within the team. Being the seniormost among the three contenders, Sehwag was the odds on favourite to replace Dhoni. But inconsistency has been his bane and injuries have taken its toll on his ageing frame, allowing Gambhir and Kohli to stake their claim. Gambhir's captaincy ambitions, of course, have been fuelled by KKR's triumph in IPL 5 this year. In an ill-tempered final against Dhoni's CSK, there was much finger-pointing before KKR prevailed. But their *****ly relationship dates back to the 2011 World Cup final where Gambhir's gallant knock of 97 did not get the reviews it deserved because he, unlike Dhoni, had failed to see his team to victory. Dhoni, who pipped Gambhir to the Man-of-the-match award, had rubbed it in at the post match presentation saying 'Gambhir only had himself to blame'. Not the one to take it lying down, Gambhir returned the compliment after winning the MoM award in Adelaide against Australia after India won in the last over, saying he would have finished the match earlier had he been there in the middle. Yuvraj and Harbhajan have every reason to feel let down by Dhoni after being cast away in a manner that suggest that, along with Zaheer Khan, they were the one to be blamed for India's debacle in Mumbai and Kolkata. Dhoni's chances of hanging on to the top-job in Tests lie in winning the Nagpur Test. It will be tough for even the BCCI top brass to keep on pedestal someone who has gone from a hero to zero in less than 20 months.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-13/top-stories/35796140_1_dhoni-today-ms-dhoni-gambhir-and-virat-kohli

[superstar]

What is worse hero to zero or God to joker

[CG]

What is worse hero to zero or God to joker

Hero to zero ,It rhymes better.

[diga]

shameless fellow...Now he says the loss doesn't compare to the pain of 2007 world cup loss. Is 8-0 not painful? To top that, we have 2-1 loss "" It was a tough series, said Dhoni after the Nagpur Test. But there are not many things that will come close to the loss in the 2007 50-over World Cup. This is not close to that.?

[Pagalpanti]

A captains character is tested when he is going through tough times. Unfortunately Dhoni has failed so far.

[don_corleone840]

i dont think dhoni can be blamed for even single loss in last two years.If someone is to be blamed than it has to be our great players like gambhir sehwag sachin dravid and laxman.

[Stuge]

whatever his mojo is gone. He should step down now. Sent from my XT535 using Tapatalk 2

[Utalk]

We thought he was the best captain to come out of sub continent.

[vamos_rafa]

We thought he was the best captain to come out of sub continent.

You rated him above Imran Khan? Also, when times are tough, it can really get tough for anyone.

[maniac]

We thought he was the best captain to come out of sub continent.

In terms of accomplishments he still is..:--D Ps I think in terms of leadership imran is ahead :--D

[vamos_rafa]

In terms of accomplishments he still is..:--D Ps I think in terms of leadership imran is ahead :--D

He is. Actually I am surprised that Dhoni is not turning out to be the leader. Yes he has been lucky but Dhoni always had the correct attitude more than the skill. Somehow, it's not happening for him anymore.

[rkt.india]

He is. Actually I am surprised that Dhoni is not turning out to be the leader. Yes he has been lucky but Dhoni always had the correct attitude more than the skill. Somehow' date=' it's not happening for him anymore.[/quote'] He looks disinterested. It looks He does not really have an idea of captaincy in test cricket. He does not seem to encourage his players. His decisions are not decisive. Playing 4 spinners was the worst thing that could have happened. and now if he continues to back a guy like Jadeja to bat at 6, he will lose any credibity he has as a captain. I guess a captain is only strong if he himself performs well. A captaion full of self-doubts will never become a leader to rebuild a team.

[saneindian]

This is what happens when you overstay in a job. Shelf life of an Indian captain is no more than 4 years. Dhoni should have realized that too. Ganguly suffered the similar issues in the last 12 months of his captaincy, lost form, lost control over team, made some disastrous decisions, looked arrogant, exactly the traits Dhoni has shown over last 15-18 months.

[Crookbond]

Dhoni going the Ganguly way.

[IKnowU]

Lets make Kohli the kaptaann and we can be on our merry way to winning every game? Am I right?

[saneindian]

No changing the captain may even mean we go onto 12 out of our next 12 tests. But that shouldn't give a license to MSD to continue in hi job without any accountability. With a new captain and a new team, the team can start moving forward, with the present captain wwe will continue to regress as we have in the last 18 months.

[vamos_rafa]

He looks disinterested. It looks He does not really have an idea of captaincy in test cricket. He does not seem to encourage his players. His decisions are not decisive. Playing 4 spinners was the worst thing that could have happened. and now if he continues to back a guy like Jadeja to bat at 6, he will lose any credibity he has as a captain. I guess a captain is only strong if he himself performs well. A captaion full of self-doubts will never become a leader to rebuild a team.

That's what bothers me. He's making blunders but that's the tactical part which may well be covered up. But, the problem is, does he have the desire to walk the talk of being the leader which he wants to be?

[rkt.india]

That's what bothers me. He's making blunders but that's the tactical part which may well be covered up. But' date=' the problem is, does he have the desire to walk the talk of being the leader which he wants to be?[/quote'] Another thing is no realistic realization. He said Anderson was the difference between the two teams. How many wickets Anderson had in first test? He does not realize that let him become the force. Batting was clueless and fragile which made it possible, not because Anderson bowled unplayable spells.

[Laaloo]

The guy keeps living in denial over and over again and keeps backing the same losers including himself over and over again. We need to get rid of this loser first then start at the top with Sehwag, then Sachin, and then some more. Start over.

[Clarke]

Dhoni going the Ganguly way.

In terms of a relative decline in both cases, yes. In absolute terms, Ganguly's team fought against the best and almost levelled it against an ATG team in 2004. This crybaby gets the turning wickets, loses fair & square and then makes excuses every freakin time, goes as far back as 2007 WC :wall: